Kerala Blasters star Sahal Abdul Samad has managed to establish himself as a mainstay in the Indian national team in recent years.
The 26-year-old midfielder had a fruitful season with his club Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL) this season where he scored three goals and provided two assists in 20 matches.
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He has been able to replicate his club football form for the national side as he played an important role in Igor Stimac's side winning the Intercontinental Cup earlier this month in Bhubaneswar.
Champions of the Hero Intercontinental Cup! 🏆🇮🇳 Pure pride and passion on the pitch.
— Sahal Abdul Samad (@sahal_samad) June 19, 2023
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Alhamdulillah ☝️ pic.twitter.com/zN4pVBQuyz
Sahal scored India's first goal of the tournament against Mongolia in the Intercontinental Cup and featured in Stimac's starting lineup in two out of the four matches India played.
As Sahal continues to shine for both club and country, we take a look at the journey of the Malayali star as a professional footballer so far.
Who is Indian football's rising star Sahal Abdul Samad?
Sahal was born and brought up in Al Ain in UAE and got his early training in football at the Al Ethihad Sports Academy in UAE.
He moved to Kannur, Kerala, in order to pursue a college education and also play football professionally. He was selected to play for the Kerala state team in the 2017 Santosh Trophy.
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His impressive performance for Kerala prompted Kerala Blasters to sign him in the same year. In the 2017-18 season, Sahal represented Blasters' reserve side in the I-League second division where he scored seven goals, the most by a player from an ISL) club.
He then broke into the first team in 2018 and made his debut under then-Blasters boss David James. So far, he has appeared in 92 ISL matches for Kerala Blasters where he scored 10 goals and provided eight assists.
Sahal has represented India internationally in 27 matches since making his debut in 2019 where he scored three goals.
