Baghdad Bounedjah facts for kids
.jpg)
Bounedjah with Al Sadd in 2019
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Baghdad Bounedjah | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 24 November 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Oran, Algeria | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Current team
|
Al-Shamal | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| –2009 | RCG Oran | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | RCG Oran | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | USM El Harrach | 48 | (16) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2015 | ES Sahel | 49 | (26) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2024 | Al Sadd | 157 | (150) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Al-Shamal | 18 | (17) | |||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | Algeria U23 | 8 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2021 | Algeria A' | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013– | Algeria | 78 | (32) | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 March 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 June 2025 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Baghdad Bounedjah (born on November 24, 1991) is a professional footballer from Algeria. He plays as a striker for the Qatar Stars League club Al-Shamal. He also plays for the Algeria national team.
Before 2015, Bounedjah played for Algerian teams like RCG Oran and USM El Harrach. He also played for the Tunisian team Étoile du Sahel. In 2015, he joined the Qatari club Al Sadd. During the 2018–19 Qatar Stars League season, he set a league record by scoring 39 goals. In 2018, he was the world's top goalscorer with 58 goals in total.
Bounedjah first played for Algeria's senior team in 2014. He represented his country at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also played in four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He was part of the team that won the 2019 tournament. He scored the winning goal in the final match.
Playing for Clubs
Early Career in Algeria
Baghdad Bounedjah began his football journey in his hometown with RCG Oran. He played in their youth teams until he joined the senior team in 2009. After two seasons there, he moved to USM El Harrach in 2011.
In the summer of 2011, Bounedjah signed a two-year contract with USM El Harrach. He made his first professional appearance for the club on September 10, 2011. In that game against MC Oran, he scored a goal in the 78th minute.
Time in Tunisia
In June 2013, Bounedjah joined Étoile Sportive du Sahel in Tunisia. He quickly became a key player for the team. In his first year, he was the top scorer in the 2014 Tunisian Professional League 1. He scored 14 goals in 23 games.
On August 11, 2013, Bounedjah won his first title with Étoile du Sahel. His goal helped his club win the 2013–14 Tunisian Cup. In his second season, he continued to play well. He scored his first hat-trick in the Tunisian League on September 25, 2014. He also helped his team win the Tunisian Cup for the second time in a row. He scored another hat-trick in that final. He also helped Étoile du Sahel win the CAF Confederation Cup and was the top scorer in that competition.
Success with Al Sadd
Starting in Qatar
On April 29, 2015, Bounedjah moved to Al Sadd in Qatar. However, he stayed with Étoile du Sahel on loan for six months. This was because Al Sadd already had enough foreign players. During this loan, Bounedjah got injured. He returned to Al Sadd in March 2016. He scored his first goal for the club soon after. He finished his first season with seven goals in ten games.
Becoming a Top Scorer
In his second season, Bounedjah started scoring many goals. On December 7, 2016, he scored his first hat-trick in the Qatar Stars League. He scored five goals in one match against Al-Arabi on February 16, 2017. At the end of the season, he was the top goalscorer in the Qatari Stars League with 24 goals.
Bounedjah also won his first titles with Al Sadd. He won the Qatar Crown Prince Cup and the Emir of Qatar Cup. He scored a "super-hat trick" (four goals) in the Emir of Qatar Cup quarter-finals. He ended the season with 30 goals. Because of his great performance, he extended his contract until 2021.
More Goals and Records
The 2017–18 season started well for Bounedjah. He scored a hat-trick in the Qatar Super Cup final. He scored in six games in a row in the league. He then got injured again, which kept him out for over two months. After returning, he scored ten goals in just five league matches. He also scored his 50th goal for Al Sadd. In the 2018 AFC Champions League, he scored nine goals in eight games. He finished the season with 28 goals.
The 2018–19 season was amazing for Bounedjah. On August 12, 2018, he broke the Qatar Stars League record for most goals in a single game. He scored seven goals in a 10–1 win against Al Arabi. He also became the top scorer in the 2018 AFC Champions League with 13 goals. This made him the first Algerian and first Qatari club player to win this award.
By the end of 2018, Bounedjah was the world's top goalscorer 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 February 2019, he scored his 100th goal for Al Sadd. On April 4, 2019, he scored his 39th goal of the season, setting a new league record. This helped Al Sadd win their first Qatar Stars League title in six years.
Continued Success
After the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, Bounedjah quickly returned to play for Al Sadd. 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 at the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup and was named Man of the Match. He ended up being the top scorer in that tournament with three goals.
In the 2020–21 season, Bounedjah led Al Sadd to win the 2020 Emir of Qatar Cup. He scored both winning goals in the final. On December 23, 2020, he scored his 100th goal in the Qatar Stars League. He scored two hat-tricks in January 2021. In February 2021, he scored twice in the Qatar Cup final, helping Al Sadd win. He also scored a goal that secured Al Sadd's 15th league title. He finished the season as the league's top scorer with 21 goals, winning the Golden Boot for the third time.
Playing for Algeria
In September 2011, Baghdad Bounedjah was called to play for the Algeria under-23 national team. He played in friendly matches. On October 4, 2011, he was surprisingly called up to the Algeria national team for a match against the Central African Republic.
Bounedjah scored the only goal for Algeria in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Final against Senegal. This goal helped Algeria win the tournament 1–0. In December 2023, he was chosen for Algeria's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored the first goal against Angola on January 15, 2024.
International Goals
Goals for Algeria Senior Team
| 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 |
Goals for Algeria U23 Team
| 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 |
Awards and Achievements
Team Awards
- 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
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
In Spanish: Baghdad Bounedjah para niños
