Omar Al Somah facts for kids

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Omar Al Somah
Personal information
Al Somah with Al-Ahli in 2019
Date of birth	(1989-03-23) 23 March 1989 (age 36)
Place of birth	Deir Ez-Zor, Syria
Height	1.92 m
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Al-Orobah
Number	99
Youth career
2001–2008	Al-Futowa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2008–2011	Al-Futowa	42	(36)
2011–2014	Qadsia	57	(43)
2014–2023	Al-Ahli	180	(144)
2022–2023	→ Al-Arabi (loan)	20	(19)
2023–2025	Al-Arabi	25	(18)
2025–	Al-Orobah	0	(0)
National team^‡
2007–2008	Syria U20	2	(1)
2008–2012	Syria U23	10	(5)
2012–	Syria	42	(21)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 December 2024 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:42, 11 June 2024 (UTC)

Omar Jehad Al Somah (Arabic: عُمَر جِهَاد السُّومَة; born on March 23, 1989) is a professional football player from Syria. He plays as a striker for the Saudi club Al-Orobah and the Syria national team. In Syria, he is known as Al ʿAggied, a nickname for a brave and helpful historical character from Damascus.

Al Somah began his football journey at his local club Al-Futowa. In 2011, he moved to the Kuwaiti team Qadsia. By July 2014, he joined Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League. He became the top goal scorer in the league for three years in a row: 2015, 2016, and 2017. He helped Al-Ahli win the league in 2016, which was their first league title in 32 years! In 2022, he played for the Qatari club Al-Arabi on loan, and then joined them permanently the next year. In January 2025, he returned to Saudi Arabia to play for Al-Orobah.

Club Career
International Career
How He Plays
About His Life
International Goals
Achievements and Awards
See also

Club Career

Starting with Al Futowa

Omar Al Somah started playing football at age 12. He joined the youth team of Al Futowa, his hometown club. In the 2007–08 season, his youth team won the Syrian under-18 league. Al Somah was the top scorer, netting 29 goals.

At 17, he joined the senior team for the 2008–09 season. He scored 12 goals, making him his club's top scorer. Even though his club was moved down to a lower division, he helped them get promoted back up right away the next season. He scored five goals in the 2010–11 season before it was stopped in March 2011.

Playing for Al Qadsia

On June 30, 2011, Al Somah moved to Al Qadsia in the Kuwaiti Premier League. In his first season, he helped his new team win the Kuwaiti Premier League, the Emir Cup, and the Super Cup.

Trial in England

In July 2012, Al Somah had a tryout with the English club Nottingham Forest. He played in three games and scored one goal during his month-long trial. The coach, Sean O'Driscoll, wanted him to stay. However, Al Somah could not get a work permit. This was because of rules in English football about a player's country's FIFA ranking and how many international games they had played. He was offered to play in France for six months first, but he chose to return to Al Qadsia for a better salary to support his family.

Back to Al Qadsia

After returning to Al Qadsia, Al Somah continued to win trophies. In 2013, his team won the Emir Cup, Super Cup, and Crown Prince Cup. In the 2013–14 season, he won his second league title. They also won the Crown Prince Cup, Federation Cup, Super Cup, and the AFC Cup. In his last season with the club, he was the league's top scorer with 23 goals.

Time at Al Ahli

First Season and Top Scorer

In May 2014, Omar Al Somah signed a two-year contract to join the Saudi team Al Ahli. On August 16, 2014, he scored three goals in his first league game, helping his team win 6–1 against Hajer. In December of that year, he signed a new contract to stay with the club until 2018.

On February 13, 2015, he scored a goal just one minute after coming into the game. This goal helped Al Ahli win 2–1 against Al Hilal in the Saudi Crown Prince Cup final. He finished his first season as the league's top scorer with 22 goals. Later, on May 27, he scored two goals in a 2–1 win in the AFC Champions League. However, his team was still knocked out of the competition.

Winning Titles and More Goals

In the 2015–16 season, Al Somah scored 27 goals in the Pro League. This helped his club win their first league title in 32 years! He also scored two goals in a 3–1 win against Al Nassr in the King Cup final. He scored a goal and a winning penalty in the shootout against Al-Hilal in the Super Cup. In the 2016–17 season, he won his third top scorer award with 24 goals. He was the first player to score at least 20 goals in three seasons in a row.

Injuries and Breaking Records

In the 2017–18 season, Al Somah had an ankle injury that kept him from playing for most of the season. In April 2018, he signed a new contract with Al Ahli until 2021.

During the 2018–19 season, Al Somah scored 19 goals in 24 matches. On March 1, 2019, he scored an amazing overhead kick goal against Al-Ittihad in the Jeddah Derby.

On November 29, 2020, Al Somah scored a goal in a 2–1 win. This goal made him equal Nasser Al-Shamrani's record of 126 goals, making them the joint all-time top scorers in the league since 2008–09. On December 22, he broke the record by scoring his 127th goal in a 1–0 win against Al Fateh.

In January 2021, he extended his contract until 2024. After the club was moved down to a lower league in 2021–22, Al Somah left Al Ahli. He had scored an amazing 192 goals and made 30 assists for the club, including a record 144 league goals.

Moving to Al-Arabi

Loan Spell and Cup Win

On August 9, 2022, Al Somah joined the Qatari team Al-Arabi for a one-year loan. On May 12, 2023, he scored two goals for Al-Arabi in a 3–0 win against Al Sadd in the Emir Cup final. This was Al-Arabi's first title in that competition in over 30 years! He finished his first season with Al-Arabi as their top scorer with 19 goals.

Permanent Move

On July 21, 2023, Al Somah officially joined Al-Arabi on a two-year deal. He finished the 2023–24 season as his club's top scorer with 17 goals.

Joining Al-Orobah

On January 12, 2025, Omar Al Somah returned to Saudi Arabia. He joined Al-Orobah for the rest of the 2024–25 season.

International Career

Al Somah played for the Syria U20 team in the 2008 AFC U-19 Championship. He scored Syria's only goal in that tournament against Iraq. On October 11, 2012, he played his first game for the senior national team in a friendly match against Kuwait, which ended in a 1–1 draw. He was also part of the team that won the 2012 WAFF Championship that year.

After not playing for the national team for five years, he returned during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification. His first game back was against Qatar on August 31, 2017. He then scored his first goal for the senior team, a goal in the last minutes of the game, in a 2–2 draw against Iran. This goal helped Syria reach the next stage of the World Cup qualifiers. He scored both goals against Australia in a close 2–3 loss. He even hit the goal post from a free kick in extra time, which could have helped Syria qualify for the next round. In December 2018, he was chosen to be in the Syrian team for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

In December 2023, he announced he was retiring from international football. This was after the coach, Héctor Cúper, did not pick him for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. A few days later, he changed his mind, saying he made the first decision out of anger. He said he would be ready to play for Syria whenever he was called. On June 6, 2024, he played his first game back for Syria in a 1–0 loss against North Korea during the 2026 World Cup qualification.

How He Plays

Omar Al Somah plays as a forward, usually as a central striker. He is known for his excellent goal-scoring ability and his skill at taking free kicks. Because he is tall and strong, he is very good at winning the ball in the air and scoring with his head. He can also score goals with both his left and right feet. His playing style has earned him the nickname "the Syrian Ibrahimović", comparing him to the famous Swedish player.

About His Life

Omar Al Somah got married in 2015 and has two children. In February 2019, he donated $6,000 to Al-Fotuwa, the club where he started his football career.

International Goals

Scores and results list Syria's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 September 2017	Azadi Stadium, Tehran, Iran	Iran	2–2	2–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	5 October 2017	Hang Jebat Stadium, Krubong, Malaysia	Australia	1–1	1–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	10 October 2017	Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia	Australia	1–0	1–2 (aet)	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	24 March 2018	Basra Sports City, Basra, Iraq	Qatar	1–0	2–2	2018 International Friendship Championship
5	6 September 2018	Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan	1–1	1–1	Friendly
6	10 September 2018	Dolen Omurzakov Stadium, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan	Kyrgyzstan	1–1	1–2
7	11 October 2018	Bahrain National Stadium, Rifaa, Bahrain	Bahrain	1–0	1–0
8	15 January 2019	Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates	Australia	2–2	2–3	2019 AFC Asian Cup
9	5 September 2019	Panaad Stadium, Bacolod, Philippines	Philippines	1–1	5–2	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	5 September 2019	Panaad Stadium, Bacolod, Philippines	Philippines	4–1	5–2
11	10 October 2019	Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Maldives	1–0	2–1
12	10 October 2019		Maldives	2–0	2–1
13	15 October 2019		Guam	1–0	4–0
14				2–0
15				3–0
16	12 October 2021	King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan	Lebanon	2–3	2–3	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
17	11 November 2021	Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Iraq	1–0	1–1	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
18	1 June 2022	Shabab Al Ahli Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Tajikistan	1–0	1–0	Friendly
19	25 March 2023	Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Thailand	1–0	3–1
20	17 October 2023	Police Officers' Club Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Kuwait	1–0	1–2
21	16 November 2023	Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia	North Korea	1–0	1–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification