kids encyclopedia robot

Baghdad Bounedjah facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Baghdad Bounedjah
Al Sadd and Persepolis FC training in Azadi Stadium 3 (Baghdad Bounedjah).jpg
Bounedjah with Al Sadd in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-11-24) 24 November 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Oran, Algeria
Height 1.85 m
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Al-Shamal
Number 11
Youth career
2009–2011 RCG Oran
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2011–2013 USM El Harrach 48 (16)
2013–2015 ES Sahel 49 (26)
2015–2024 Al Sadd 157 (150)
2024– Al-Shamal 13 (13)
National team‡
2011–2016 Algeria U23 8 (4)
2013–2021 Algeria A' 1 (0)
2013– Algeria 76 (32)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  Algeria
FIFA Arab Cup
Winner 2021 Qatar
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 2019 Egypt
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 January 2025.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2024

Baghdad Bounedjah (born November 24, 1991) is a famous Algerian football player. He plays as a striker, which means he's a goal-scorer, for Qatar Stars League club Al-Shamal and for the Algerian national team.

Before 2015, Baghdad played for teams in Algeria and Tunisia. Then, he joined a big club in Qatar called Al Sadd. In the 2018-2019 season, he scored an amazing 39 goals in Qatar's league, which was a new record! In 2018, he was the top goal scorer in the whole world with 58 goals!

He started playing for Algeria's national team in 2014. He even played in the 2016 Summer Olympics and helped Algeria win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019. He scored the winning goal in the final game!

Club Career Highlights

Starting Out: RCG Oran and USM El Harrach

Baghdad started playing football in his hometown with RCG Oran. He played for their youth teams and then for the senior team for two seasons, starting in 2009.

In 2011, he joined USM El Harrach. He played his first professional game for them on September 10, 2011. He even scored a goal in that game!

Success in Tunisia: Étoile du Sahel

In June 2013, Baghdad moved to Tunisia to play for Étoile du Sahel. He quickly became a key player for the team. In his first year, he was the top scorer in the Tunisian Professional League 1, scoring 14 goals in 23 games.

He won his first trophy with Étoile du Sahel on August 11, 2013, by winning the Tunisian Cup. He won the Tunisian Cup again the next year, scoring three goals in the final! He also helped his team win the CAF Confederation Cup and was the top scorer in that competition.

Star Player in Qatar: Al Sadd

Joining Al Sadd and First Season (2015–16)

In April 2015, Baghdad joined Al Sadd in Qatar. He stayed on loan with Étoile du Sahel for six months because Al Sadd already had too many foreign players. During this time, he got an ankle injury that kept him from playing for almost three months.

He finally played his first game for Al Sadd on March 7, 2016. He scored his first goal for the club soon after. It was a tough first season for him and his team, but he still scored seven goals in ten games.

Becoming a Top Scorer (2016–17)

In his second season, Baghdad really shined! On December 7, 2016, he scored three goals in one game (a hat-trick) against Al-Rayyan. Later, on February 16, 2017, he scored an amazing five goals in one match against Al-Arabi!

He finished the season as the top goal scorer in the Qatar Stars League with 24 goals. He also helped Al Sadd win their first trophy, the Qatar Crown Prince Cup, and then the Emir of Qatar Cup. He ended the season with 30 goals. Because of his great performance, he extended his contract with Al Sadd until 2021.

More Goals and Injuries (2017–18)

At the start of the 2017-18 season, Baghdad scored another hat-trick in the Qatar Super Cup, helping Al Sadd win the trophy. He started the league season strong, scoring in six games in a row.

However, he got a shin injury that kept him out for over two months. Even after returning, he scored ten goals in just five league matches! He also did very well in the AFC Champions League, scoring nine goals in eight games. He finished the season with 28 goals.

Record-Breaking Season (2018–19)

The 2018-19 season was incredible for Baghdad! On August 5, 2018, he scored a hat-trick in the first game. A week later, he broke the Qatar Stars League record by scoring seven goals in one game! His team won that match 10-1.

He also became the top scorer in the 2018 AFC Champions League with 13 goals. He was the first Algerian player and the first player from a Qatari club to win this award.

By the end of 2018, Baghdad was the world's top goal scorer with 58 goals! He scored more goals than famous players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi that year. He was also the first Algerian to score 50 goals in a single year.

In December 2018, he decided to stay with Al Sadd and renewed his contract until 2024. In early 2019, he won the award for the best Algerian player of 2018. On February 23, 2019, he scored his 100th goal for Al Sadd! On April 4, 2019, he scored his sixth hat-trick of the season and his 39th league goal, which helped Al Sadd win their first Qatar Stars League title in six years. This was Baghdad's first league title ever!

Continued Success (2019–20)

After winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Algeria, Baghdad quickly returned to play for Al Sadd. On August 13, 2019, he helped his team reach the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League.

In his first league match of the season, he scored four goals in a 7-1 win! He also scored the first goal in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup and was named "Man of the Match" in that game. He ended up being the top scorer in that tournament with three goals.

More Trophies and Goals (2020–21)

The 2020-21 season started later because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Baghdad led his club to win the Emir of Qatar Cup, scoring both winning goals in the final!

On December 23, 2020, he scored his 100th goal in the Qatar Stars League. In January 2021, he scored two more hat-tricks in separate games!

On February 26, 2021, he scored twice in the Qatar Cup final, helping Al Sadd win again. He also scored a goal that secured Al Sadd's 15th league title in the Qatar Stars League. He finished the season as the league's top scorer with 21 goals, winning the Golden Boot for the third time!

International Career

Baghdad Bounedjah has played for Algeria at different levels. In September 2011, he was called up to the Algeria under-23 national team.

He received a surprise call-up to the main Algeria national team in October 2011.

He scored the only goal for Algeria against Senegal in the final of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. This goal helped Algeria win the tournament 1-0!

In December 2023, he was part of Algeria's team for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored the first goal against Angola on January 15, 2024.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
USM El Harrach 2011–12 ALP1 20 6 5 1 — — 25 7
2012–13 28 10 1 1 — — 29 11
Total 48 16 6 2 — — 54 18
Étoile du Sahel 2013–14 TLP1 24 14 2 1 2 2 — 28 17
2014–15 23 11 4 6 12 7 — 39 24
2015–16 2 1 — 7 4 — 9 5
Total 49 26 6 7 21 13 — 76 46
Al Sadd 2015–16 QSL 6 3 3 4 — 1 0 10 7
2016–17 20 24 3 5 1 0 1 1 25 30
2017–18 11 16 0 0 8 9 3 3 22 28
2018–19 22 39 3 3 10 6 — 35 48
2019–20 21 14 2 3 7 1 7 8 38 26
2020–21 19 21 2 3 4 4 2 2 27 30
2021–22 17 13 2 1 3 0 0 0 22 14
2022–23 22 12 4 3 0 0 6 5 30 20
2023–24 20 8 4 2 3 2 6 4 33 16
Total 157 150 24 24 44 26 24 20 242 219
Al-Shamal 2024–25 QSL 13 13 0 0 — 0 0 13 13
Career total 280 203 36 33 59 38 24 20 384 292

International Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Algeria 2013 1 0
2014 1 0
2015 4 0
2016 1 0
2017 5 1
2018 9 7
2019 14 8
2020 3 1
2021 16 7
2022 4 0
2023 5 2
2024 13 6
Total 76 32
Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bounedjah goal.
List of international goals scored by Baghdad Bounedjah
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 January 2017 Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria  Mauritania 2–1 3–1 Friendly
2 22 March 2018 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Tanzania 1–0 4–1 Friendly
3 4–1
4 1 June 2018 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Cape Verde 2–1 2–3 Friendly
5 8 September 2018 Independence Stadium, Bakau, Gambia  Gambia 1–0 1–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6 12 October 2018 Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria  Benin 2–0 2–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
7 18 November 2018 Stade Municipal, Lomé, Togo  Togo 4–1 4–1 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
8 27 December 2018 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Qatar 1–0 1–0 Friendly
9 26 March 2019 Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria  Tunisia 1–0 1–0 Friendly
10 11 June 2019 Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Burundi 1–0 1–1 Friendly
11 16 June 2019 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar  Mali 1–1 3–2 Friendly
12 23 June 2019 30 June Stadium, Cairo, Egypt  Kenya 1–0 2–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
13 19 July 2019 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt  Senegal 1–0 1–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations final
14 15 October 2019 Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France  Colombia 1–0 3–0 Friendly
15 14 November 2019 Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria  Zambia 2–0 5–0 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
16 5–0
17 12 November 2020 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Zimbabwe 1–0 3–1 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
18 29 March 2021 Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria  Botswana 4–0 5–0 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
19 3 June 2021 Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria  Mauritania 4–1 4–1 Friendly
20 11 June 2021 Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia  Tunisia 1–0 2–0 Friendly
21 2 September 2021 Mustapha Tchaker Stadium, Blida, Algeria  Djibouti 4–0 8–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
22 12 October 2021 Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger  Niger 4–0 4–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
23 1 December 2021 Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar  Sudan 1–0 4–0 2021 FIFA Arab Cup
24 2–0
25 27 March 2023 Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia  Niger 1–0 1–0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
26 16 November 2023 Nelson Mandela Stadium, Algiers, Algeria  Somalia 2–0 3–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
27 9 January 2024 Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo  Burundi 1–0 4–0 Friendly
28 15 January 2024 Stade de la Paix, Bouaké, Ivory Coast  Angola 1–0 1–1 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
29 20 January 2024 Stade de la Paix, Bouaké, Ivory Coast  Burkina Faso 1–1 2–2 2023 Africa Cup of Nations
30 2–2
31 10 September 2024 Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Monrovia, Liberia  Liberia 3–0 3–0 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
32 17 November 2024 Hocine Aït Ahmed Stadium, Tizi Ouzou, Algeria  Liberia 3–1 5–1 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
Scores and results list Algeria U23's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bounedjah goal.
List of international goals scored by Baghdad Bounedjah
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 August 2016 Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil  Honduras U23 2–3 2–3 2016 Summer Olympics

Trophies and Awards

Team Trophies

Étoile du Sahel

  • Tunisian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
  • CAF Confederation Cup: 2015

Al Sadd

  • Qatar Stars League: 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24
  • Qatar Cup: 2017, 2020, 2021
  • Emir of Qatar Cup: 2017, 2020, 2021, 2024
  • Sheikh Jassim Cup: 2017
  • Qatari Stars Cup: 2019–20

Algeria National Team

Individual Awards

  • Algerian Footballer of the Year: 2018
  • Tunisian Ligue Pro 1 Top Goalscorer: 2013–14
  • CAF Confederation Cup Top Goalscorer: 2015
  • Qatar Stars League Player of the Month: August 2018, November/December 2018, January 2021, September 2021
  • Qatar Stars League Top Goalscorer: 2018–19, 2020–21
  • Qatar Stars League Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
  • Emir of Qatar Cup Top Goalscorer: 2017
  • AFC Champions League Top Goalscorer: 2018
  • AFC Champions League Fans' Best XI: 2018
  • AFC Champions League OPTA Best XI: 2018
  • IFFHS World's Best Top Goal Scorer: 2018
  • IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer: 2018
  • IFFHS World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer: 2019
  • FIFA Club World Cup Top Goalscorer: 2019
  • CAF Team of the Year: 2015
  • Goal Africa Team of the Year: 2018
  • IFFHS CAF Men Team of The Year: 2021

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Baghdad Bounedjah para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Baghdad Bounedjah Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.