00:05The standard of football in Asia has never been higher.
00:11Four national teams from the continent will head to North America inside the top 25 on FIFA's rankings.
00:19The quality of domestic competitions has skyrocketed, especially in the Middle East,
00:25where investment in the Saudi Pro League has attracted some of the greatest players in the world to the region.
00:33All of which means that the accolade of AFC Player of the Year has never been harder to earn or
00:40carried more status.
00:44Which makes the accomplishments of Salim al-Dasari especially significant.
00:52In 2025, the Saudi International was crowned the best footballer in the AFC for his continued excellence for al-Hilal
01:00and the Saudi national team.
01:03In further testament to his quality, it was his second award in four years, making him one of just four
01:10players to earn the accolades twice.
01:15Al-Dasari received his 2025 trophy just days after helping the Green Falcons qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
01:28First of all, all praise be to Allah for this victory, a precious one that takes us to the World
01:33Cup.
01:34Congratulations to our leadership and to the Saudi people on achieving this dream.
01:39For years we've worked hard together to reach this moment, and today we're reaping the fruits of that effort.
01:47The 2026 World Cup will be Al-Dasari's third in a row.
01:51At Russia 2018, he scored a late winning goal against Egypt.
01:56Then at Qatar 2022, he sealed an opening match victory against eventual champions Argentina
02:02in one of the tournament's biggest ever upsets.
02:05Who knows what might be in store in North America?
02:11One must always work harder and harder to finally see the results, step by step, God willing, toward more achievements.
02:19In the end, individual awards are good, but what truly matters to us are the team achievements.
02:25Now 34, Al-Dasari has spent his entire career with al-Hilal, aside from a year on loan at Villarreal
02:33in 2018,
02:34when he made one substitute appearance in La Liga.
02:40Playing on the left wing, he has excellent technical ability, uses his low centre of gravity to dribble out of
02:46tight areas
02:47and poses a serious goal threat, cutting inside onto his powerful right foot.
02:55He has made a habit of scoring important goals and has matured into a leader for both club and country.
03:04During his long career with al-Hilal, he has won six Saudi Pro League titles and the AFC Champions League
03:11twice.
03:14In 2025, he was the top scorer in the Champions League, but his side was knocked out in the semi
03:21-finals.
03:24The Al-Hilal side that Al-Dasari captains now contains the likes of Khalidou Koulibaly, Dawid Nunez and Ruben Neves.
03:35So when he leads Saudi Arabia out onto football's grandest stage in North America, there will be no underdog mentality.
03:43Salim Al-Dasari is at the pinnacle of Asian football, ready to elevate the game even further in his homeland
03:50at the 2026 World Cup.
03:53Salim Al-Dasari is an exceptional match to console and playing in the limel gerne by covid-19X, which remains
03:53an Irish school conference in Alabama at the 2027 World Cup.
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