Elias Saad #8

Profile

Very few players successfully make the transition from futsal to professional football, but Saad is one of them. Born in Hamburg, he joined the city’s futsal team in 2019 and became the youngest player to make an appearance for Germany’s national futsal side. He was also playing in local amateur 11-a-side leagues and training for a career in sales when St Pauli came calling. The winger made an immediate impact, scoring in a derby defeat to HSV and impressing coach Fabian Hürzeler, who said “hard work is what he demands, and he’ll be rewarded.” Now 26 years old, Saad is preparing to experience his first World Cup. Having scored three goals in two qualifying matches, he is among the players most eagerly awaited by fans in the United States, Mexico, and Canada this summer.

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