Introduction
Nadia Nadim (born 2 January 1988) is an Afghan-born Danish football player who plays as a striker for Portland Thorns in the NWSL and the Danish national team.
Early life and club career
Nadim was born in Herat and raised in Afghanistan until her father, an Afghan National Army (ANA) general, was executed by the Taliban in 2000. 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. She made her Champions League debut in September the same year, scoring both goals in a 2–1 win over Scottish Champions Glasgow City.
International career
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. 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.
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. In doing so, she became the first naturalised Dane to represent a Denmark senior national football team. 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. In Denmark's opening group match against hosts Sweden Nadim featured as a substitute in an eventful 1–1 draw.
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 |
| # | 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
2009-03-09 | Silves |  Iceland |
81.
off 81' (on Madsen) |
1.1 | 36 |
5150.01005 1–0 |
5250.02005 2–0 |
Algarve Cup |
|
|
2010-03-01 | Albufeira |  Finland |
26.
on 65' (off Munk) |
1.1 | 80 |
5150.02005 2–1 |
5150.02005 2–1 |
Algarve Cup |
|
|
2012-09-15 | Vejle |  Czech Republic |
87.
off 87' (on Troelsgaard) |
1.1 | 55 |
5150.01005 1–0 |
5150.01005 1–0 |
UEFA Championship qualifier |
|
|
2012-06-20 | St. Pölten |  Austria |
90.Start | 1.1 | 92 |
4850.01005 1–3 |
4850.01005 1–3 |
UEFA Championship qualifier |
|
|
2013-06-20 | Viborg | Iceland |
45.
off 45' (on Jensen) |
1.1 | 34 |
5150.01005 1–0 |
5250.02005 2–0 |
Friendly |
|
|
2013-11-24 | Valletta |  Malta |
90.Start | 2.1 | 26 |
5250.02005 2–0 |
5550.05005 5–0 |
Friendly |
|
|
2.2 | 46 |
5450.04005 4–0 |
||||||
|
|
2014-03-20 | Albufeira |  United States |
90.Start | 1.1 | 35 |
5250.02005 2–0 |
5550.02005 5–3 |
Algarve Cup |
|
|
2014-09-13 | Vejle | Malta |
90.Start | 2.1 | 28 |
5450.04005 4–0 |
5850.08005 8–0 |
World Cup qualifier |
|
|
2.2 | 67 |
5750.07005 7–0 |
Professional career
Sky Blue FC
Nadim joined Sky Blue FC near the end of the 2014 NWSL season. Playing in 6 games, she scored 7 goals and registered 3 assists. She was named player of the week on 19 August and player of the month for the NWSL for August 14.
On 16 February 2015, Sky Blue announced that Nadim had been signed to play for Sky Blue in the 2015 season.
Portland Thorns FC
On January 14, 2016, Nadim was traded to Portland Thorns FC. Nadim finished the season as the team's top scorer with 9 goals in 20 games as the team won the 2016 league.
Personal life
In 2013 Nadim was attending medical school.