Omid Popalzay

Omid Popalzay (Dari: امید پوپلزی; born 25 January 1996) is an Afghan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liga 2 club PSPS Riau and the Afghanistan national team.

Omid Popalzay
Personal information
Full name Omid Popalzay
Date of birth (1996-01-25) 25 January 1996
Place of birth Kabul, Afghanistan
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 PSPS Riau
Number 10
Youth career
SV Estria
0000–2015 NEC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Achilles '29 53 (5)
2018 FC Lienden 11 (0)
2019 Adelaide Comets 4 (1)
2019–2020 Sint-Eloois-Winkel 4 (0)
2020–2021 Olimpia Grudziądz 30 (3)
2021–2022 Chittagong Abahani 20 (5)
2023 Ariana 3 (0)
2023 Nejmeh 2 (0)
2023– PSPS Riau 11 (1)
International career‡
2015– Afghanistan 41 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 February 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023

Youth

Before joining Achilles '29 in 2015 Omid Popalzay played in the youth of SV Estria and N.E.C./FC Oss.

Career

Achilles '29

He signed in July 2015 his first professional contract for Achilles '29.[1] He was signed to play for the second team of Achilles '29 but was given a change for the first team after he impressed. On 11 September 2015 he made his debut for Achilles '29 against Sparta Rotterdam. He scored his first goal in a 2–1 win against FC Den Bosch.[2] One week after the win against FC Den Bosch he scored another goal and made an assist against Jong PSV with the result being a 3–2 win for Achilles '29.[3]

Australia and Belgium

In the beginning of 2019, Popalzay moved abroad to Australia and joined Adelaide Comets.[4] In May 2019, he left the club to join Belgian club Sint-Eloois-Winkel.[5]

Olimpia Grudziądz

On 11 August 2020, Popalzay signed a contract with Polish club Olimpia Grudziądz.[6]

Chittagong Abahani

On 22 November 2021, Popalzay joined Bangladesh Premier League club Chittagong Abahani.

Ariana

After a failed move to Kelantan,[7] Popalzay signed a deal with Swedish Ettan Fotboll club Ariana at the end of March 2023.[8]

Nejmeh

On 11 June 2023, Popalzay joined Lebanese Premier League club Nejmeh.[9]

International career

Omid Popalzay made his debut for the Afghanistan national team in their World Cup Qualification match against Singapore on 8 October 2015.[10] They lost the match 1–0. After this match, he also played for the national team against Syria and Cambodia.

Personal life

Popalzay holds both Dutch and Afghan passports.

Career statistics

Club
Club performance League Cup Continental Other Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Europe1 Other2 Total
2015–16Achilles '29Eerste Divisie194———194
2016–17Achilles '29Eerste Divisie12110——131
Total Netherlands 31510——325
Career total 31510——325
Statistics accurate as of last match played on 9 November 2016.

1 Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches.

2 Includes Johan Cruijff Shield matches.

International
Scores and results list Afghanistan's goal tally first.[11]
NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.28 December 2015Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, India Maldives2–14–12015 SAFF Championship
2.4–1
3.6 June 2017Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Maldives2–12–1Friendly
4.11 June 2021Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Oman1–11–22022 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.16 November 2021Gloria Sports Complex, Antalya, Turkey Indonesia1–01–0Friendly
6.12 September 2023Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines Philippines1–01–2

References
  1. "Boelens, Popalzay, Witteveen en Deckers definitief naar Achilles 1".
  2. "Gelukkige zege Achilles dankzij een te late wissel".
  3. "Omid Popalzay speler van de week, Hidde Jurjus nieuwe koploper".
  4. NPL SA: Afghanistan international Omid Popalzay signs for Adelaide Comets, adelaidenow.com.au, 1 February 2019
  5. Afghaanse Nederlander derde versterking voor Winkel Sport, kw.be, 21 May 2019
  6. Omid Popalzay piłkarzem Olimpii!, 11 August 2020
  7. Pemain tengah Afghanistan gagal diserap TRW, tapi bekas 'striker' Sabah pula meroyan, majoriti.com.my, 15 February 2023
  8. Ariana stänger truppen med flera nyförvärv, arianafc.com, 31 March 2023
  9. "النجمة اللبناني يضم لاعب أفغانستان". كووورة. 11 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  10. "Singapore vs. Afghanistan - 8 October 2015 - Soccerway".
  11. "Popalzay, Omid". National Football Teams. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
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