Scoring twice to lead the team to the title, Hamd bids farewell to the national team with the trophy

Written by Han Bing In the early hours of December 19th Beijing time, Morocco triumphed over Jordan 3-2 in extra time at the FIFA Arab Cup final, with Hamd scoring twice. This victory represents Morocco’s biggest success since their 2022 World Cup semifinal run. Following the game, the former CSL Silver Boot winner retired from international duty, closing his national team career with the trophy—an ideal conclusion for Hamd.

In 2025, the Arab Cup served as a test event for the Qatar World Cup, hosted and named by FIFA. However, since it was not held during an official international window, European clubs refused to release players. Morocco, heavily reliant on Europe-based players, had to field a squad composed of those playing in Arab national leagues. Hamd, who plays in Saudi Arabia, returned to the national team after two years, seeing this as his last chance to earn honors with Morocco.

After making his national team debut in February 2012, Hamd spent the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations on the bench for three matches. He then missed five consecutive Africa Cups, including the upcoming one hosted by Morocco this weekend. In 2022, he was recalled to the national team for the World Cup after a three-year absence, but as only the ninth-choice forward, he was limited to substitute appearances. During the October international window, he played with Morocco’s B team in friendlies against Egypt’s U23 and Kuwait’s B team, while the main Moroccan squad, filled with Europe-based players, competed in World Cup qualifiers.

Fortunately, Hamd seized his opportunity. In the 87th minute of the FIFA Arab Cup final, he scored the equalizer, breathing new life into Morocco’s chances. Then, in the 100th minute of extra time, he netted the winning goal, securing the championship for his team.

Hamd has only appeared in two major tournaments for Morocco: the 2022 World Cup, where the team finished fourth—setting a record for both Morocco and African teams—and now the FIFA Arab Cup victory. This is Morocco’s first major title since winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 1976, ending a 49-year drought. Although Morocco has won the African Championship three times recently, with the 2014 edition included in FIFA’s ranking system, the tournament only allows domestic league players, making its prestige far lower than that of the Arab Cup.

In 2014, Guangzhou R&F set a club record by signing Hamd for €4.5 million. If not for missing eight Chinese Super League matches due to injury, his goal-per-game ratio of one (22 goals in 22 matches) could have challenged the then non-naturalized Golden Boot winner Elkeson (28 goals in 28 matches). His record of consecutive hat-tricks in the CSL stood for 11 years until it was matched by Kazayishvili this year.

Hamd’s professional peak came in the Saudi league during the 2018/19 season when he scored 34 goals, breaking a 19-year-old league Golden Boot record of 33 goals. This record stood until Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed it five years later with 35 goals. That season, Hamd also led the league in assists (19) and scored 57 goals across all competitions, surpassing Lewandowski’s 54 and Messi’s 50, earning him the world’s top scorer title for 2019.

Hamd is the all-time top scorer in the Saudi Super Cup and King’s Cup, and holds the records for the most hat-tricks and four-goal hauls in the Saudi league. He also holds the longest consecutive scoring streak in the league (14 matches) and is the fastest player to reach 50, 100, and 150 goals in Saudi league history. At 35, the former R&F striker, now retired from the national team, aims to become the Saudi league’s all-time top scorer, needing just 38 goals to surpass Majed’s record of 189 goals.

Many foreign players who left the Chinese Super League have also won important trophies or earned league top scorer awards at their clubs.

After leaving Suning, the Brazilian forward won the Brazilian Serie A MVP and Golden Boot in 2017, followed by the J1 League Golden Boot in 2018. Hulk, who departed Shanghai Port in 2020, claimed the Brazilian Serie A and Cup double in 2021, along with three Golden Boots for the Serie A, Cup, and overall season, plus MVP awards for both competitions, as well as five consecutive state league titles and four straight Golden Boots. Additionally, players like Ighalo (Saudi league), Karl Tansen (Israeli league), Bakambu (Greek Super League), and Lovi (Turkish Super League) have won Golden Boots, while Diao has earned the Turkish league Golden Boot and a domestic treble.

After leaving the CSL, players such as Kwon Kyung-won and Kim Young-gwon (K League), Zahavi and Saba (Israeli league), Ighalo (Saudi league), Lovi (Brazilian Serie A), Mooy (Scottish Premiership), and Demba Ba (Turkish league) have all won league titles. Carrasco won the La Liga championship, Kim Min-jae secured consecutive Serie A and Bundesliga titles, Shaarawy lifted the UEFA Europa Conference League with Roma (2021/22), and Long Dong claimed both the Argentine Primera and CONCACAF Champions League titles, along with the CONCACAF Golden Boot and MVP in 2024.

However, before Hamd’s recent triumph, only a few former CSL players had won major international trophies with their national teams: Portuguese defender Fonte, who briefly played for Dalian, won the 2018/19 UEFA Nations League with Portugal; and Katongo (Henan) and James (Shijiazhuang), who led Zambia to the Africa Cup of Nations title while still in the CSL in 2012.