Faisal Khalil back at the right time

Dubai: The UAE and Al Ahli striker Faisal Khalil is glad to make a national team return at an opportune moment.

"I think there could not have been a better time for me to return to the national team," Khalil told Gulf News after attending a training session of the UAE team at the Al Wasl Club.

The national team is preparing to face Germany in a friendly followed by their last two qualifiers in the 2010 Fifa World Cup against South Korea (in Dubai) and Iran (in Tehran) in the first half of June.

The UAE's best striker was bogged down by niggling injuries when he was last with the UAE national team. However, now it is a different story. With many of the junior players participating in their team's preparations for this year's Fifa World Youth Cup to be hosted in Egypt, coach Dominique Bathenay decided to give some of his seniors a chance to make an appearance.

"This call could not have come at a better moment. We [Al Ahli] have just won the UAE Football League and this confidence will go a long way in pushing us towards even bigger achievements," Khalil promised.