#360view: Time for Ahmed Khalil to stand up and deliver

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  • Burden: Ahmed Khalil.

    The UAE’s current batch of players are rightly heralded as a ‘golden generation’.

    Impressive displays at the London 2012 Olympics, 2013 Gulf Cup and 2015 Asian Cup are testament to the rarified talents in coach Mahdi Ali’s possession.

    Yet some players are more priceless than others.

    We are about to find out the value of 29-goal Ali Mabkhout as the first stage on the long road to 2018 World Cup winds up without him in Thursday night’s clash against Palestine and in all likelihood Tuesday’s decider against Saudi Arabia.

    For this squad to fulfil their destiny, a hero may be required in these must-win clashes to fill the void caused by a hamstring complaint.

    The time has come for history-making Ahmed Khalil to show why he was awarded the 2015 AFC Asian Player of the Year crown.

    Debate about the UAE tends to always gravitate towards Al Ain playmaker Omar Abdulrahman. His standout frizzy hair and even-more-eye-catching technique make him an obvious focal point.

    Forward Khalil has also shown a propensity to steal the limelight. Key strikes during Al Ahli’s run to the 2015 AFC Champions League final and the Whites’ progression to third at the last Asian Cup saw him become the first Emirati to be crowned the continent’s finest.

    But even in the presence of such celebrated stars, the nation usually requires Mabkhout to shine brightest.

    The 25-year-old’s lethality brings the creative talents of Omar, Ismail Al Hammadi and Amer Abdulrahman to life. He is by a distance the highest-scoring Emirati in the 2015-16 Arabian Gulf League despite Al Jazira’s travails, his 16-goal tally being 10 more than Emirates Club’s Mohammad Malalla and Khalil.

    He has now hit double figures in three of the last four top-flight campaigns. This consistency stands him apart from Khalil, who has done it just once in 2009-10.

    The latter-mentioned has the edge in this qualification process. A 10-goal haul – boosted by two incredible four-goal performances against Malaysia and Timor-Leste – is double that registered by Makbhout.

    Even still, Mabkhout is the figure the rest of the continent’s heavyweights fear most. His mixture of pace, size, skill and killer instinct would have been ideal to pile the pressure on Palestine.

    Mabkhout’s characteristics would have been perfect to force the agenda against Abdel Nasser Barakat’s visitors. They are sure to repeat their dour tactics from the goalless reverse fixture last September.

    For much of the running in Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, 10 men will be behind the ball as the visitors look to steal a result.

    Forward support for Khalil tonight will not be up to the usual standard when Mabkhout is around. Stand-ins Salem Saleh and Ahmed Ali got doubles against minnows Bangladesh last Friday, though this was not a representative warm-up.

    Ali will dread to think what to do if his top gun also misses the showdown with the Saudis. Failure then will bring years of remarkable progress to a shuddering halt.

    The striking burden looks like it is Khalil’s to bear for the immediate future, while Mabkhout gingerly goes through training.

    This is a mental challenge for him, rather than a question of ability. Much will be learned about one of the standout characters in Ali’s squad.

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