Nawaf Al Abed

Nawaf Al Abed

Personal information
Full name	Nawaf Al-Abed
Date of birth	January 26, 1990
Place of birth	ArRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Al-Hilal
Number	24
Youth career
2005–2008	Al-Hilal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2008–	Al-Hilal	81	(13)
National team^‡
2011–2012	Saudi Arabia U23
2011–	Saudi Arabia	26	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of September 24, 2014. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 18, 2015

Nawaf Al Abed (Arabic: نواف العابد‎; born January 26, 1990) is a Saudi Arabian footballer who plays for Al-Hilal. On November 7, 2009 he scored what may be the fastest goal in professional football history. Two seconds into an under-23 Prince Faisal bin Fahad Cup game against Al Shoalah he spotted the goalkeeper out of position and lobbed the ball over him into the goal from midfield.^[1] Unfortunately, upon review, the entire game was ruled invalid, as the team had six players over the age of 23 on the field in the second half. Nawaf Al Abed has now accomplished himself as a regular first team player after many good performances like against Al Ittihad, he is also very versatile as he can play on the wing or as a second striker.^[2]

International career

Nawaf represented the Saudi Arabia national football team as the country hosted the 2014 Gulf Cup of Nations. His first international goal came in the quarter-final match with Yemen, proving to be the winning goal as the Saudis prevailed 1–0.^[3] Nawaf scored again in the semi-final as Saudi Arabia defeated the United Arab Emirates 3–2. The Green Falcons eventually finished as runners-up to Qatar, losing 2–1 in the final at the King Fahd International Stadium.^[4]

Nawaf was included in Saudi Arabia's squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, scoring his third international goal in a 4–1 defeat of North Korea in the team's second group match.^[5]

International goals

As of 14 January 2015

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	19 November 2014	King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh	Yemen	1–0	1–0	2014 Gulf Cup of Nations
2	23 November 2014	King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh	United Arab Emirates	2–0	3–2	2014 Gulf Cup of Nations
3	14 January 2015	Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne	North Korea	4–1	4–1	2015 AFC Asian Cup

Honours

Club

Al-Hilal

• Saudi Professional League (3): 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11
• Saudi Crown Prince Cup (4): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
• King Cup of Champions Runner-up (1): 2009–10
• AFC Champions League Runner-up (1): 2014

International

• Gulf Cup of Nations Runner-up (1): 2014

See also

• Fastest goals in association football

References

1. Grahame L. Jones (November 9, 2009). "Nawaf Al Abed scores the fastest goal in soccer history -- two seconds!". The Los Angeles Times.
2. "مخالفة هلالية تجرد العابد من لقب صاحب أسرع هدف في العالم". radiosawa.com. 13 November 2009.
3. "Abed thunderbolt puts KSA in semis". Saudi Gazette. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
4. "Saudi Arabia 1-2 Qatar". Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
5. "Saudi Arabia eliminates North Korea 4-1 at Asia Cup". USA Today. 14 January 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2015.

External links

• Nawaf Al Abed - The official site of Al Hilal
• Nawaf Al Abed - Fastest soccer goal ever scored in 2 seconds