Sebastián Soria


Andrés Sebastián Soria Quintana commonly known as Sebastián Soria, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatar. Born in Uruguay, he has represented the Qatar national team since 2007. He was shortlisted for the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2008. He currently holds the record for the fastest goal scored in AFC Champions League history at 9 seconds – a record which was set in 2013 when he was playing for Lekhwiya SC.

Club career

Early career

As a youngster, Soria had an unsuccessful trial at Uruguayan club Defensor Sporting in Montevideo.
Soria continued playing in the minor leagues and a new chance soon emerged. In 2001, a cyclist, who had watched Soria playing in the minor leagues and was impressed by his talents, brought him to the attention of a football agent he knew, and Soria was sent to Montevideo to play in Liverpool Montevideo, where he played under coach Julio Ribas. He was sent to the reserve team for a brief while before making it back on the first team. He eventually proved his value and ended up playing the rest of the 2003 season on the first team.
In mid-2004, Soria got an offer from Frenchman Bruno Metsu to play for Al-Gharafa in Qatar. He arrived in Qatar in 2004 and was naturalized in 2006.

Al Gharafa

Soria joined Al Gharafa in 2004 under the supervision of Bruno Metsu. It was the first time he had played outside of Uruguay. He won the 2004–05 Qatar Stars League with Al Gharafa.

Qatar SC

Soria transferred to Qatar SC from league winners Al Gharafa in 2005. He won the Qatar Crown Prince Cup with the club in 2009. He attracted interest from Europe, with Italian team Udinese and Spanish capital sides Getafe and Atletico Madrid scouting him. However, he chose to extend his contract with Qatar SC in 2010.
When AC Milan came to visit Doha in March 2009, in a farewell match for Jafal Rashed Al-Kuwari, Soria guested for Al Sadd. "They invited me to play for Al Sadd, so of course I said yes. I like to play against the strong defenders," Soria said after his scuffles with Milan defender Philippe Senderos. After being substituted, Soria was swarmed by local fans and patiently signed autographs for approximately 15 minutes.

Lekhwiya

After transferring to Qatari champions Lekhwiya, Soria had the opportunity to play in the 2013 AFC Champions League. He scored 4 goals in Lekhwiya's first four group stage games, including one of the fastest goals in any Asian competition after 9 seconds against Pakhtakor on 9 April 2013. It is the fastest goal ever scored in Asia's premier continental club competition during the AFC Champions League format.

Al Rayyan, Al-Arabi and return to Qatar SC

Soria joined Al-Rayyan SC on a one-year deal in 2015, but went on to represent the club for five seasons. He later joined Al-Arabi for the 2020–21 season, before returning to Qatar SC.
[Image:Sebastian Soria Qatar SC.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Soria in 2012]

International career

Soria was born and raised in Paysandú, but moved to Qatar early in his footballing career and became a naturalized citizen. He won a gold medal in the 2006 Asian Games for the Qatar U-23 team. The official Qatar SC website has him listed as being born in 1984. In addition, QFA's website lists his actual date of birth as 1983.
Soria saved the Qatari national team by scoring in the last 20 minutes, which helped tie the score. This happened in the AFC 2007 in both their games, one against Japan, and the other just recently against Vietnam. He also scored the leading goal against the United Arab Emirates. He is the only Qatari player to score on the 2007 Asian Cup. He scored three goals.
Soria scored a goal against eventual winners Japan in the 2011 Asian Cup quarterfinals but the homeside were silenced after a late goal from Inoha put Japan in the lead to win by a 3–2 victory. However, he was not included in Djamel Belmadi's squad for 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
In October 2025, eight years after his last appearance for Qatar, coach Julen Lopetegui called up Soria to prepare for the 2026 [FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC fourth round|2026 FIFA World Cup qualification] games against Oman and United Arab Emirates.

Career statistics

International

CompetitionAppearancesGoals
Pan Arab Games10
Asian Cup74
Asian Cup Qualifier72
Arabian Gulf Cup130
FIFA World Cup qualifiers3910
Friendlies57 23
Total12439
Notes: Values between brackets refer to matches/goals which are not considered full A-internationals.
International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
–24 November 2006Doha, QatarChina Team XI1–02–0Unofficial friendly
–24 November 2006Doha, QatarChina Team XI2–02–0Unofficial friendly
–19 June 2007AscheimGhana U-21 3–13–1Unofficial friendly
1.9 July 2007Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam1–11–12007 [AFC Asian Cup Group B|2007 AFC Asian Cup]
2.12 July 2007Mỹ Đình National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam1–11–12007 AFC Asian Cup
3.16 July 2007Quân khu 7 Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam1–01–22007 AFC Asian Cup
4.16 October 2007Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar2–13–2Friendly
5.21 October 2007Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka1–01–02010 FIFA [World Cup qualification – AFC first round|2010 FIFA World Cup qualification]
6.28 October 2007Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–05–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.28 October 2007Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar4–05–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.4 March 2008Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–01–2Friendly
9.16 March 2008Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–02–1Friendly
10.23 May 2008Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–11–1Friendly
11.27 May 2008Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–12–1Friendly
12.27 May 2008Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar2–12–1Friendly
13.7 June 2008Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Tianjin, China1–01–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
14.20 August 2008Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar2–05–0Friendly
15.10 September 2008Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–01–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification
–30 December 2008Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar2–15–2Unofficial friendly
16.21 March 2009Aleppo International Stadium, Aleppo, Syria1–02–1Friendly
17.21 March 2009Aleppo International Stadium, Aleppo, Syria2–02–1Friendly
18.8 October 2009Stadion Kantrida, Rijeka, Croatia2–22–3Friendly
19.16 December 2010Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–02–1Friendly
20.22 December 2010Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–02–0Friendly
21.21 January 2011Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–02–32011 AFC Asian Cup
22.11 November 2011Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar4–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
23.3 June 2012Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
24.6 September 2012Audi Sportpark, Ingolstadt, Germany1–21–2Friendly
25.7 November 2012Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar2–02–1friendly
26.14 November 2012Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
27.9 September 2013Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–11–1Friendly
28.13 October 2013Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar6–06–02015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
29.15 November 2013Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates1–04–12015 AFC Asian Cup qualification
30.6 October 2014Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–03–0Friendly
31.24 March 2016Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar2–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
32.18 August 2016Swissporarena, Luzern, Switzerland1–03–2Friendly
33.18 August 2016Swissporarena, Luzern, Switzerland2–13–2Friendly
34.18 August 2016Swissporarena, Luzern, Switzerland3–23–2Friendly
35.29 September 2016Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–03–0Friendly
36.29 September 2016Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar2–03–0Friendly
37.29 September 2016Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar3–03–0Friendly
38.6 October 2016Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea2–12–32018 FIFA World Cup qualification
39.17 January 2017Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–01–1Friendly

Honours

Club

Al Gharafa
Qatar SC
Lekhwiya
Al Rayyan

Individual