Abdelkarim Hassan (Arabic: عبد الكريم حسن; born 28 August 1993) is a Qatari professional footballer who plays as a left-back or center-back for Qatar Stars League club Al-Wakrah and the Qatar national team.

Abdelkarim Hassan
Hassan playing for Persepolis in 2024
Personal information
Full name Abdelkarim Hassan Al Haj Fadlalla[1]
Date of birth (1993-08-28) 28 August 1993 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth Doha, Qatar
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Position(s) Left-back, center-back
Team information
Current team
Al-Wakrah
Number 3
Youth career
2007–2010 Al Sadd
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2022 Al Sadd 190 (29)
2017–2018Eupen (loan) 10 (1)
2023–2024 Al-Jahra 21 (0)
2024 Persepolis 13 (0)
2024– Al-Wakrah 0 (0)
International career
2010–2014 Qatar U20 5 (1)
2011–2015 Qatar U23 9 (4)
2010– Qatar 133 (15)
Medal record
Representing  Qatar
Men's Football
AFC Asian Cup
Winner Qatar 2019
FIFA Arab Cup
Third place Qatar 2021
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 June 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 29 November 2022 (UTC)

Abdelkarim won the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2018.[4]

Club career

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Abdelkarim with Abdurahman Al-Harazi in a QSL match, 2017

Abdelkarim Hassan graduated from Aspire Academy in 2011.[5]

He was the youngest player to appear in the 2011 AFC Champions League at 17 years old,[6] coming off the bench against Esteghlal.[7] His team subsequently emerged champions of the Champions League that year. He was awarded Young Player of the Year in the 2012–13 Qatar Stars League.[8] It was announced in June 2017 that Al Sadd had loaned him to Belgian First Division A side Eupen.[9]

Abdelkarim played in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, in which he scored in a 3–1 win over Hienghène Sport. He later scored in the second round 3–2 loss against C.F. Monterrey. Al-Sadd eventually finished in the 5th place.

On 21 December 2022, the management of Al Sadd announced that Abdelkarim Hassan has been excluded from the football first team permanently. This comes due to the player’s outlook not matching the goals and aspirations of the team for the upcoming period.[10] On 25 January 2023, Abdelkarim Hassan joined for Kuwaiti Premier League club Al-Jahra.[11]

Persepolis

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On 22 January 2024, Hassan joined Persian Gulf Pro League side Persepolis on a 18-month deal,[12][13] making him first Qatari footballer to play professionally in Iran.[14]

International career

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Youth teams

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Abdelkarim scored a goal against UAE U20 in the 10th International Friendship Youth Tournament.[15]

In a friendly match against the Malaysia U-23 side on 17 June 2012, Abdelkarim sparked a mass melee between the two sides after a two-footed lunge on Mohd Azrif in the 43rd minute. He was duly shown a red card for his challenge. Afterwards, a Malaysian player, Nazmi Faiz, ran half the length of the pitch to confront him, and punched him. Being 5 inches shorter than Abdelkarim, Nazmi's punch turned into nothing more than a push on his chest.[16] Faiz was promptly shown a red card. Qatar went on to lose the match 2–0.[17]

He scored a goal in Qatar's opening game against Maldives in the qualifying stage for the 2014 AFC U-22 Asian Cup.[18]

Senior team

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Abdelkarim with Qatar in the 2019 Asian Cup Final

Abdelkarim made his debut for the senior national team on 18 November 2010 against Haiti.[19]

He was the youngest player to appear in the preliminary squad list for the 2011 Asian Cup at the age of 17 years and 123 days old. He scored Qatar's only goal against Malaysia in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers to ensure Qatar a berth in the Asian Cup.[20] He also scored a goal in Qatar's 4–1 victory against Yemen in the qualifiers.

Though his team lost all their group stage games in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, he was extolled as one of the stars of the tournament. A FIFA.com featured article theorized that he would form the basis of young players who go on to represent Qatar at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[21]

He was named part of Qatar's squad for the 23rd Arabian Gulf Cup held in Kuwait in from December 2017 to January 2018.[22]

He was part of Qatar's squad at 2019 AFC Asian Cup which helped them to win their first continental title. On 30 March 2021, he played his 100th match for Qatar in a 1–1 friendly match against the Republic of Ireland.

Controversy

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Following the three-loss streak of the Qatar national football team in the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, screenshots of a conversation with Hassan on Snapchat surfaced and started circulating over social media. In the conversation Hassan displayed a careless and apathetic attitude towards the poor performance of the team with a now-famous remark, saying: “استريح عبالك حرب” (lit.'Relax! It’s not war'). Following the remark, the Qatar Football Association announced on its official twitter account the exclusion of Hassan from the national team as did Hassan’s club Al Sadd SC from the player roster.[23]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of 1 June 2024[1][5]
Club Season League League Cup1 League Cup2 Continental3 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al Sadd 2010–11 QSL 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 20 0
2011–12 9 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 15 0
2012–13 18 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
2013–14 23 2 3 0 2 0 8 0 35 0
2014–15 25 5 3 0 2 0 10 1 40 6
2015–16 21 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 23 5
2016–17 23 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 24 3
K.A.S. Eupen 2017–18 (loan) Belgian First Division A 10 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 1
Al Sadd 2017–18

QSL

8 1 2 0 1 0 11 1 22 2
2018–19 14 4 3 0 0 0 10 1 27 5
2019–20 16 2 1 1 6 2 8 0 31 5
2020–21 16 2 5 0 2 0 6 0 29 2
2021–22 17 3 3 1 0 0 4 0 24 4
2022–23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Al Sadd SC Total 200 29 24 3 19 2 69 5 312 39
Al Sadd B 2016–17 Reserve League (Qatar) 1 0 0 0 1 0
2021–22 1 0 0 0 1 0
Al-Jahra 2022–23 KPL 12 0 1 1 13 1
2023–24 9 0 1 0 10 0
Al-Jahra Total 21 0 2 1 23 1
Persepolis 2023–24 Pro League 13 0 2 0 15 0
Total 13 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Career Total 246 30 29 4 19 2 69 5 363 41

1Includes Emir of Qatar Cup.

2Includes Sheikh Jassem Cup.

3Includes AFC Champions League.

International goals

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Qatar score listed first, score column indicates score after each Hassan goal.[1][24]

International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 January 2013 Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar 2   Lebanon 1–0 1–0 Friendly
2 7 March 2013 Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar 4   Egypt 1–1 3–1 Friendly
3 15 November 2013 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar 18   Yemen 2–1 4–1 2015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
4 6 November 2014 Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar 29   North Korea 3–0 3–1 Friendly
5 27 December 2014 Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar 35   Estonia 2–0 3–0 Friendly
6 30 March 2015 Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar 40   Slovenia 1–0 1–0 Friendly
7 8 September 2015 Mong Kok Stadium, Mong Kok, Hong Kong 46   Hong Kong 2–0 3–2 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 29 May 2016 Stadion Hartberg, Hartberg, Austria 52   Albania 1–0 1–3 Friendly
9 6 June 2017 Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar 60   North Korea 1–0 2–2 Friendly
10 13 January 2019 Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates 78 6–0 6–0 2019 AFC Asian Cup
11 5 September 2019 Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar 87   Afghanistan 4–0 6–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
12 29 November 2019 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar 94   Yemen 1–0 6–0 24th Arabian Gulf Cup
13 2–0
14 4–0
15 4 September 2021 Nagyerdei Stadion, Debrecen, Hungary 108   Portugal 1–2 1–3 Friendly

Honours

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Abdelkarim celebrating Al-Sadd's AFC Champions League win in 2011

Al-Sadd

Persepolis

Qatar U23

Qatar

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Abdelkarim Hassan at Soccerway
  2. ^ "FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019: List of Players: Al-Sadd SC" (PDF). FIFA. 5 December 2019. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2019.
  3. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: List of Players: Qatar" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  4. ^ a b "AFC Player of the Year 2018: Abdelkarim Hassan". Archived from the original on 1 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Player profile" (in Arabic). superkora.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  6. ^ "Player profile". al-saddclub.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  7. ^ العين الأكثر شباباً بمتوسط 22,8 عام (in Arabic). alittihad.ae. 14 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Al Sadd is the best". al-saddclub.com. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  9. ^ Ikoli Victor (29 June 2017). "Al Sadd's Abdelkarim joins Belgium's KAS Eupen". Qatar Tribune. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Al-Sadd announce Abdelkarim Hassan's permanent exclusion from the team". al-saddclub.com. 21 December 2022. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Abdelkarim Hassan signs for Kuwaiti Al Jahra SC". thepeninsulaqatar.com. 25 January 2023. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Abdelkarim Hassan signs for Persepolis". Tehran Times. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Abdelkarim Hassan Joins Persepolis: Official - Sports news". Tasnim News Agency. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  14. ^ "فوری، رسمی شد: عبدالکریم در پرسپولیس!". ورزش سه (in Persian). Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  15. ^ منتخب الشباب يواجه اليونان في «الصداقة الدولية» الليلة (in Arabic). alittihad.ae. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  16. ^ "Nazmi loses cool in friendly against Qatar". asiaone.com. 18 June 2014. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  17. ^ "Harimau Muda down Qatar in fiery game marred by free-for-all". The Star. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  18. ^ "Match summary". AFC. 23 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012.
  19. ^ "Match report" (in Arabic). superkoora.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  20. ^ "Abdulkarim goal gives Qatar Asian Cup berth". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. 20 November 2013. Archived from the original on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  21. ^ "Bright new stars light up Asia". FIFA. 3 February 2015. Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  22. ^ "Qatar Head to Kuwait with Aim of Retaining Gulf Cup Title". Al Bawaba. 21 December 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  23. ^ "Qatar's Abdelkarim Hassan banned after social media post during Qatar World Cup". sportstar.thehindu.com. 19 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Abdelkarim Hassan". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  25. ^ "AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Technical Report and Statistics". AFC. 29 May 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
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