Saeed Al-Owairan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Saeed Al-Owairan

Personal information
Date of birth	(1967-08-19) 19 August 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Height	1.84 m
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1988–2001	Al-Shabab
National team
1991–1998	Saudi Arabia	75	(24)
Honours Men's football Representing  Saudi Arabia FIFA Arab Cup Runner-up 1992 FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up 1992 AFC Asian Cup Runner-up 1992
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Saeed Ali Al-Owairan Al-Dossari (born 19 August 1967) is a famous former footballer from Saudi Arabia. He played as an attacking midfielder or forward. Saeed spent his whole club career with Al-Shabab in the Saudi Pro League.

Many people think he is one of the best Asian footballers ever. Al-Owairan is most famous for an amazing goal he scored. This goal happened against Belgium in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. It was so good that FIFA ranked it as the sixth-best "Goal of the Century." He scored a total of 283 goals during his 13-year career.

Playing Career Highlights

Saeed Al-Owairan played his entire club career for Al-Shabab. This is a well-known Saudi football club located in Riyadh.

He also played for the Saudi Arabia national team. He played in 85 international matches, scoring 34 goals. Seven of these goals helped his team qualify for the 1994 World Cup.

The Famous 1994 World Cup Goal

Saeed became famous around the world at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. He scored an incredible solo goal against Belgium. This goal happened at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C..

Later, FIFA voted it as the sixth-best goal in their "Goal of the Century" list. This amazing goal helped Saudi Arabia reach the second round of the World Cup for the first time ever. They later lost 3–1 to Sweden in the Round of 16.

After the World Cup

After the 1994 World Cup, Al-Owairan went back to Saudi Arabia. In the same year, he was named the Asian Footballer of the Year. Many European clubs wanted him to play for them. However, he could not leave Saudi Arabia. A national law at the time stopped Saudi footballers from playing abroad.

He was part of the Saudi Arabia national team again for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. But he only played in two matches. Saudi Arabia did not make it past the group stages that year.

International Goals for Saudi Arabia

Saeed Al-Owairan scored many goals for his country. Here are some of his international goals:

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	13 September 1992	Aleppo, Syria	[[Palestinian National Authority {{{altlink}}}|Palestinian National Authority]]	2–?	2–1	1992 Arab Cup
2.	17 September 1992		Egypt	2–2	2–3
3.	20 October 1992	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Argentina	1–3	1–3	1992 King Fahd Cup
4.	2 November 1992	Onomichi, Japan	Thailand	1–0	4–0	1992 AFC Asian Cup
5.	6 November 1992	Hiroshima, Japan	United Arab Emirates	1–0	2–0
6.	1 May 1993	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Macau	2–0	6–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.				3–0
8.	14 May 1993	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Macau	4–0	8–0
9.				6–0
10.				7–0
11.	18 May 1993		Kuwait	1–0	2–0
12.	24 October 1993	Doha, Qatar	Iraq	1–1	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.	29 June 1994	Washington, D.C., United States	Belgium	1–0	1–0	1994 FIFA World Cup
14.	10 November 1994	Abu Dhabi, UAE	Bahrain	2–0	3–1	12th Arabian Gulf Cup

Awards and Achievements

Saeed Al-Owairan won several awards and honors during his career.

With Al-Shabab Club

• Arab Club Champions Cup: 1992, 1999
• Saudi Premier League: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93
• Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 2000–01

With Saudi Arabia National Team

• Arab Nations Cup runner-up: 1992
• King Fahd Cup runner-up: 1992
• AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 1992

Individual Awards

• IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer: 1993
• Best Scorer in Saudi Premier League: 1991–92