Nadia Nadim

Nadia Nadim

Personal information
Full name	Nadia Nadim
Date of birth	(1988-01-02) 2 January 1988[1]
Place of birth	Herat, Afghanistan
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current team	Manchester City
Number	10
Youth career
	Gug Boldklub
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	B52 Aalborg
2005–2006	Team Viborg
2006–2012	IK Skovbakken	3	(4)
2012–2015	Fortuna Hjørring	8	(4)
2014–2015	Sky Blue FC	24	(13)
2015–2016	→ Fortuna Hjørring (loan)
2016–2017	Portland Thorns FC	37	(15)
2018–	Manchester City	15	(4)
National team‡
2009–	Denmark	75	(22)
Honours Representing  Denmark Runner-up UEFA Women's Championship 2017
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:37, 30 September 2018 (UTC)[2] ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:42, 25 February 2018 (UTC)

Nadia Nadim (born 2 January 1988) is an Afghan-Danish football player who plays as a striker for FA WSL club Manchester City.

Early life and club career

Nadim was born in Herat^[1] and raised in Afghanistan until her father, an Afghan National Army (ANA) general, was executed by the Taliban in 2000.^[3] Her family then fled to Denmark, where she began her football career, playing for B52 Aalborg, Team Viborg and IK Skovbakken, before moving to Fortuna Hjørring in 2012.^[4] She made her Champions League debut in September the same year, scoring both goals in a 2–1 win over Scottish Champions Glasgow City.^[5]

Club Career

Nadia Nadim playing for the Portland Thorns FC in 2017

Playing style

Nadim is recognized for her energetic and determined style of play.^[13] She is successful from the penalty spot, having converted all but one of her penalties in the NWSL (and with the one miss being a block by the goalkeeper and immediately scored by Nadim) and both of her attempts at Euro 2017.^[14]

International career

Nadim (left) playing for Denmark in 2017

Under Danish nationality law Nadim could not apply for citizenship until turning 18 in 2006. When citizenship was eventually granted in 2008, FIFA eligibility rules blocked Nadim from playing for Denmark, because she had not yet been resident for the requisite five years after turning 18.^[15] A subsequent challenge from the Danish Football Association (DBU) led to FIFA's legal department making an exception to the rules in Nadim's case.^[16]

Nadim immediately became a member of the Denmark national team, making her debut in the 2009 Algarve Cup in a 0–2 defeat by the United States.^[17][18] In doing so, she became the first naturalised Dane to represent a Denmark senior national football team.^[19] She participated in all three of Denmark's games at UEFA Women's Euro 2009 in Finland.

She was named in national coach Kenneth Heiner-Møller's Denmark squad for UEFA Women's Euro 2013.^[20] In Denmark's opening group match against hosts Sweden Nadim featured as a substitute in an eventful 1–1 draw.^[21]

In the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament, she was instrumental in Denmark's advancement, scoring the tying goal in Denmark's eventual 2–1 win over favorites Germany in the knockout stages, and scoring a go-ahead goal in the final, which Denmark ultimately lost to host Netherlands 4–2.

International goals

	Key (expand for notes on “international goals” and sorting)
Location	Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred Sorted by country name first, then by city name
Lineup	Start – played entire match on minute (off player) – substituted on at the minute indicated, and player was substituted off at the same time off minute (on player) – substituted off at the minute indicated, and player was substituted on at the same time (c) – captain Sorted by minutes played
#	NumberOfGoals.goalNumber scored by the player in the match (alternate notation to Goal in match)
Min	The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal.
Assist/pass	The ball was passed by the player, which assisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information.
penalty or pk	Goal scored on penalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.)
Score	The match score after the goal was scored. Sorted by goal difference, then by goal scored by the player's team
Result	The final score. Sorted by goal difference in the match, then by goal difference in penalty-shoot-out if it is taken, followed by goal scored by the player's team in the match, then by goal scored in the penalty-shoot-out. For matches with identical final scores, match ending in extra-time without penalty-shoot-out is a tougher match, therefore precede matches that ended in regulation
aet	The score at the end of extra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation
pso	Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parenthesis; the match was tied at the end of extra-time
	Light-purple background color – exhibition or closed door international friendly match
	Light-yellow background color – match at an invitational tournament
	Pink background color – Continental Games or regional tournament
NOTE on background colors: Continental Games or regional tournament are sometimes also qualifier for World Cup or Olympics; information depends on the source such as the player's federation. NOTE: some keys may not apply for a particular football player

	Date	Location	Opponent	Lineup	#	Min	Score	Result	Competition
1	2009-03-09[m 1]	Silves	Iceland	81. off 81' (on Madsen)	1.1	36	5150.01005 1–0	5250.02005 2–0	Algarve Cup
2	2010-03-01[m 2]	Albufeira	Finland	26. on 65' (off Munk)	1.1	80	5150.02005 2–1	5150.02005 2–1	Algarve Cup
3	2012-09-15[m 3]	Vejle	Czech Republic	87. off 87' (on Troelsgaard)	1.1	55	5150.01005 1–0	5150.01005 1–0	UEFA Championship qualifier
4	2012-06-20[m 4]	St. Pölten	Austria	Start	1.1	92	4850.01005 1–3	4850.01005 1–3	UEFA Championship qualifier
5	2013-06-20[m 5]	Viborg	Iceland	45. off 45' (on Jensen)	1.1	34	5150.01005 1–0	5250.02005 2–0	Friendly
6	2013-11-24[m 6]	Valletta	Malta	Start	2.1	26	5250.02005 2–0	5550.05005 5–0	Friendly
7					2.2	46	5450.04005 4–0
8	2014-03-20[m 7]	Albufeira	United States	Start	1.1	35	5250.02005 2–0	5550.02005 5–3	Algarve Cup
9	2014-09-13[m 8]	Vejle	Malta	Start	2.1	28	5450.04005 4–0	5850.08005 8–0	World Cup qualifier
10					2.2	67	5750.07005 7–0

Honours

Personal life

In 2017 Nadim was attending medical school at Aarhus University (remotely, during the soccer season) with the aim of becoming a surgeon when her playing days are over.^[22][23] Nadim is Muslim,^[24] and speaks nine languages (Danish, English, German, Persian, Dari, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and French).^[25][13]

Afghan singer Aryana Sayeed is her aunt.^[26]

References

Match reports

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nadia Nadim.

• Nadia Nadim – UEFA competition record
• Denmark player profile
• Sky Blue FC player profile
• Portland Thorns FC player profile