Assad Al-Hamlawi

Assad Al-Hamlawi was born in Helsingborg to a Swedish mother and a Palestinian father. When it came to choosing international colours, he picked Palestine rather than the country of his birth, making his debut in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Jordan, a match Palestine lost 1-3.

Al-Hamlawi began at Ängelholms FF, scoring 14 goals in 18 games, before Helsingborgs IF signed him in 2020. A loan at Jönköpings Södra followed, then a short spell at Varbergs BoIS that ended with his contract cancelled within months. He went back to Ängelholm, then further still, to Thailand's Prime Bangkok, where he scored nine goals in eleven matches.

It was back in Sweden's second tier, at IK Oddevold, that he reached a new level: 14 goals in 28 games saw him finish 2024 as Superettan's joint-top scorer. That form took him to Poland's Śląsk Wrocław for a €250,000 fee, where he added seven goals in sixteen appearances, and from there to Universitatea Craiova in Romania in the summer of 2025.

His first season at Craiova brought a league and cup double, though he watched the cup final from the bench without getting on. In the league he was the club's leading scorer with 11 goals in 35 matches, even if the overall Liga I top-scorer title went to Jovo Lukić.