Turki Al-Ammar

Turki Marwan Saad Al-Ammar (Arabic: تركي مروان سعد العمار; born 23 September 1999) is a Saudi Arabian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Al-Qadsiah and the Saudi Arabia national team.^[2][3]

Turki Al-Ammar

Personal information
Full name	Turki Marwan Saad Al-Ammar
Date of birth	(1999-09-24) 24 September 1999 (age 24)^[1]
Place of birth	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)^[1]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Al-Qadsiah
Number	18
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2023	Al-Shabab	99	(7)
2023–	Al-Qadsiah	0	(0)
International career^‡
2017–2019	Saudi Arabia U20	21	(11)
2019–2022	Saudi Arabia U23	19	(0)
2018–	Saudi Arabia	9	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 August 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 January 2023

Widely regarded for his skillful display and good vision, Al-Ammar is praised to be one of the next top best Saudi football talents.

Career

Club career

Al-Ammar began his career at the youth team of Al-Shabab. He made his first-team debut for Al-Shabab on 17 November 2017 in the league match against Al-Ittihad. He came off the bench replacing Abdullah Al-Khaibari in the 84th minute.^[4] On 30 November 2017, Al-Ammar made his first start for Al-Shabab in the 2–1 win against Al-Taawoun.^[5] He ended his first season at the club making 16 appearances in all competitions. In addition, Al-Ammar won the Young Player of the Season award for the 2017–18 season.^[6] During the 2018–19 season, Al-Ammar missed the beginning of the season due to the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship. He made his return on 23 November 2018 in the league match against Al-Nassr.^[7] On 28 January 2019, Al-Ammar signed his first professional contract with the club.^[8] He was ruled out until the end of the season due to injury on 25 February 2019.^[9] On 5 March 2020, Al-Ammar scored his first goal for Al-Shabab, in the 4–0 win against Al-Adalah.^[10]

On 29 August 2023, Al-Ammar joined Saudi First Division League side Al-Qadsiah on a three-year deal.^[11]

International career

U-20 Saudi Arabia

He was named on the final list of the Saudi Arabia U19 participating in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship held in Indonesia. This tournament saw Turki Al-Ammar managed an outstanding performance, scoring four goals for the Saudi side as his skillful display put up an instrumental part of Saudi Arabia's conquest of the tournament. For this reason, he was named as the best player of the competition, and was later included as young player of the year by the Asian Football Confederation, the first Saudi to ever achieve this honor.^[12]

However, despite skillful performance of Al-Ammar in the 2018 U-19 Asian Cup, his performance in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Poland was a complete disappointment, with he silenced himself in many important moments as Saudi Arabia, the champions of Asia, exited from the group stage in a complete humiliation with three straight defeats, the first time since 1985.

Senior team

His impressive performance at the 2018 U-19 Asian Cup allowed him to occupy a spot in the Saudi squad, as he was first called up to the main team by then-manager Juan Antonio Pizzi for the friendlies against Yemen, Jordan and South Korea. He was unused for the match against Yemen^[13] and Jordan.^[14] He was later omitted from the squad for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Turki Al-Ammar finally made his debut for the senior team in the friendly against Paraguay at home, came on as substitute for Yahya Al-Shehri at the second half, where they drew goalless.^[15] He was also included to the final squad of the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup under coach Hervé Renard, but after the disastrous 1–3 loss to Kuwait, he is not used. Saudi Arabia eventually recovered with Turki Al-Ammar being unused to march to the final.^[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 29 August 2023^[3]

Club	Season	League		King Cup		Asia		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Al-Shabab	2017–18	14	0	2	0	—		—		16	0
	2018–19	3	0	1	0	—		—		4	0
	2019–20	16	1	0	0	—		4^[a]	0	20	1
	2020–21	26	4	0	0	—		2^[a]	0	28	4
	2021–22	22	2	2	1	3	2	—		27	5
	2022–23	15	0	1	0	2	0	2^[a]	0	20	0
	2023–24	3	0	0	0	—		5^[a]	0	8	0
	Total	99	7	6	1	5	2	13	0	123	10
Career totals		99	7	6	1	5	2	13	0	123	10

1. Appearances in Arab Club Champions Cup

International

International goals

Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	12 January 2023	Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium, Basra, Iraq	Oman	1–1	1–2	25th Arabian Gulf Cup

Honours

International

Saudi Arabia U20

• AFC U-19 Championship: 2018

Saudi Arabia U23

• AFC U-23 Asian Cup: 2022

Individual

• AFC U-19 Championship MVP: 2018
• Asian Young Footballer of the Year: 2018
• Saudi Pro League Young Player of the Year: 2018

References

1. "FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021: List of players: Saudi Arabia" (PDF). FIFA. 4 December 2021. p. 12. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
2. "تركي مروان العمار - Turki Al Ammar". Retrieved 3 January 2019.
3. Turki Al-Ammar at Soccerway
4. "AL ITTIHAD VS. AL SHABAB 1 - 1".
5. "AL SHABAB VS. AL TAAWON 2 - 1".
6. "في حفل جوائز الموسم الرياضي: الهلال أفضل فريق.. وفيلانويفا نجم الدوري السعودي".
7. "AL NASSR VS. AL SHABAB 1 - 0".
8. "الشباب يوقع عقداً احترافياً مع تركي العمار".
9. "تركي العمار يواصل برنامجه الطبي للتعافي من آلام الضامة".
10. "الشباب يعوض خماسية الاتحاد برباعية في العدالة".
11. "رسميا.. القادسية يضم العمار 3 مواسم".
12. "AFC Youth Player of the Year (Men) 2018: Turki Al Ammar | Football News |". the-AFC. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
13. "Saudi Team". www.ksa-team.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
14. "Saudi Team". www.ksa-team.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
15. "Saudi Arabia vs. Paraguay - 19 November 2019 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
16. "Saudi Arabia vs. Kuwait - 27 November 2019 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.