Abu Dhabi: The UAE under-23 football team is a single point away from realising one of the country's biggest sporting ambitions — getting to the finals of the football competition at the Olympics for the first time.
The UAE lead Group B with 11 points and need only to avoid defeat in their final match against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Wednesday to book their place at the London showpiece later this year.
But win or lose, this particular group of younsters has consistently made the UAE proud since winning the GCC Junior Championship in 2006. They won the Asian Youth Championship in 2008, finished eighth — albeit the top Asian team — in the finals of the Fifa Youth World Cup in Egypt in 2009, won a silver medal at the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2010 and the GCC Under-23 Championship the same year in Qatar.
Most of the players who joined the under-16 national squad in 2006 have since become household celebrities, carrying the hopes of a better future for their country in the game, in particular given the rather disappointing results of the senior team in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers which saw them finish bottom of their group behind South Korea, Lebanon and Kuwait.
The current team of Olympic hopefuls on the other hand have always held out the promise of a more gifted generation who are capable of achieving great success for their country in the near future. They are already breaking new ground with their captain and central defender Hamdan Al Kamali joining French club Olympique Lyonnais on a six-month loan deal from Al Wahda — becoming the first ever UAE player to play professional football in Europe.
Here are five of the players to watch out for in the team as the team heads to Tashkent this week and further ahead.
Ahmad Khalil
Born on June 8, 1991, Ahmad was the youngest son in a sporting family of great footballers like Fouad Khalil, his eldest brother, and Faisal, the middle brother.
All three brothers played for Al Ahli club in Dubai and for the UAE national teams. And by some strange coincidence all of them also cut it as strikers — and good ones at that.
Ahmad started with the national team at the under-16 level and progressed with them step by step to the current under-23 team. He was selected as the most valuable player at the 2009 AFC Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia and later won the AFC Young Player Award in Kuala Lumpur for a stellar display that led the UAE to the title.
The 20-year-old is strong physically, with good ball control capabilities, which he uses to fox defenders. He also boasts a lethal finishing touch. He is a dead-ball expert, with many of his goals coming from free-kicks, and is also good in aerial battles.
Ahmad has already played for the senior national team and has scored many goals since his debut. He was approached many times by foreign scouts but so far his club has refused to release him.
Hamdan Al Kamali
Hamdan was born on May 2, 1989, and made his name with Al Wahda, for whom he started with the junior team in Al Shahama.
His leadership qualities were evident and he has been the natural choice to captain the UAE team from the junior level six years ago. He has enjoyed that status in all the matches he has played for his country.
Hamdan, a central defender, has contributed many goals for all the UAE teams he has represented, whether the juniors, youth, Olympic or senior teams, thanks to his excellent aerial skills and his fierce long-range shots.
The 22-year-old's great defensive prowess attracted the attention of European scouts during the finals of the Fifa Youth World Cup in Egypt in 2009 and finally secured a move to Olympique Lyonnais in January this year.
Hamdan's move to France, though on loan, will surely open the doors for the other gifted UAE players to seek greener pastures in Europe in the future — something that which will eventually benefit the national team.
Amer Abdul Rahman
Amer made a name for himself during the finals of the Fifa Youth World Cup with outstanding performances as a pivot and playmaker. Many clubs soon evinced an interest in the player, who has starred for Bani Yas since his school days.
Born on July 3, 1989, Amer was the only Emirati on the list of the best 11 players in the Fifa Youth World Cup in Egypt — a great honour. The youngster, along with four national team colleagues, led Bani Yas from the second division to the Etisalat Pro League and the team finished last season as runners-up. The 22-year-old has an outstanding ability to read the match situation and police the midfield with penetrating passes and interceptions besides a talent to take free-kicks.
Amer is simply, according to many football experts, the best midfielder the UAE's grounds have seen in a long time and can easily play professionally in Europe.
Ahmad Ali
Ahmad Ali has proved to be something of a super-sub for the UAE Olympic team. The 22-year-old has started in a few games, but he has made the biggest impact for the team when he is introduced as a replacement, usually coming on when things look tough for the UAE.
The striker, born on January 28, 1990, started his career with Al Wahda as a junior before shifting to Bani Yas in 2010.
Ahmad has never let his coach or his team down.
In the finals of the 2009 Fifa Youth World Cup, with the team trailing 2-0 with 15 minutes to go in their opening game against South Africa, he was introduced and went on to score one goal and create another within ten minutes. One year back, his decisive goals helped the UAE win the Asian Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia.
Ahmad has amazing ball control capabilities. He can easily go past defenders, in addition to his deadly long-range shots, which were evident in the second match against Iraq in Doha in February.
The UAE went three matches without scoring a single goal during qualification, but Ahmad missed those matches because of injury. When he was given the chance to play by UAE head coach Mahdi Ali in the absence of many key players and despite the fact that he had yet to make his comeback for Bani Yas, it took Ahmad only three minutes to score the only goal of the match against Iraq with a tremendous 30-yard left-footed shot. Not bad for someone who usually uses his right.
Omar Abdul Rahman
Omar is the youngest player in the team. He was born on September 20, 1991. He joined the squad after the finals of the 2009 Youth World Cup, but the gifted midfielder soon became one of the key players, helping the UAE win the silver medal at the Asian Games in 2010 in China and the GCC Under-23 Championship the same year in Doha.
Omar, a left-footed playmaker, showed great potential with his club Al Ain when he was only 16 and German coach Winfred Schaefer gave him the chance to taste first-team competition despite his tender age. He proved to be a winner, scoring a goal in a crucial away match against Al Jazira.
He was then selected for the Olympic team and later the country's senior team, but a serious knee injury kept him away from the game for six months and he did not start the 2012 Olympics qualifying campaign, only joining his colleagues for their last match against Australia. But he, again, emerged the star of the show by scoring the only goal of the match from a difficult angle to dash Australian hopes and put his country at the top of the group.
Omar has beautiful ball control skills and a long-range shooting abilities to boot. He can read the game well and is adept at sending colleagues clear behind rival defenders with almost natural ease.
