Abdullah Al-Salem scores first Saudi Arabia goal at 33

Abdullah Al-Salem scored his first international goal for Saudi Arabia at the age of 33 as the team defeated Iraq 2-0 in their final Gulf tournament group match.

The Al Qadsiah striker opened the scoring in the 54th minute at Alinma Stadium in Jeddah on Tuesday, reacting quickest after Iraq goalkeeper Ahmed Basel failed to deal with a dropping ball and turning it into an unguarded net.

It was Al-Salem’s first goal for Saudi Arabia in his fourth appearance for the national team. He became the latest player to produce a notable milestone for the “Green Falcons” despite making his international debut relatively late in his career.

Al-Salem was first called up by French manager Herve Renard in March last year, when he was 32. Since then, he had appeared as a substitute against China in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, before also coming off the bench against the United States and Mexico at the 2025 Gold Cup.

His match against Iraq was his first start for Saudi Arabia.

The 33-year-old has spent much of his career in the Roshn Saudi League, representing several clubs. He joined Al-Nassr on loan for the second half of the 2018-2019 season and has also played for Al-Khaleej, Al-Ettifaq and Al-Fayha, before moving to Al Qadsiah.

Saudi Arabia’s victory over Iraq came in the third and final round of the group stage of the Gulf tournament. Al-Salem’s goal gave his side the lead before they went on to complete a 2-0 win.

Saudi Sports Channels shared footage of the goal on 29 September 2026 with the caption: “Gooooal! The first goal for our national team was scored by Abdullah Al-Salem – Saudi Arabia 1, Iraq 0.”