Al Akbari, 20, enjoyed a breakthrough 2015/16 at Al Nahyan Stadium in which he was named the Arabian Gulf League’s Young Player of the Year after he scored three times in 24 games on the way to the Clarets finishing third.
He also went on to make a fourth senior appearance for the Whites during Friday’s 3-1 loss to Jordan in the 2016 King’s Cup, played in Thailand.
These performances have raised hopes the forward can emulate the achievements of Al Ain superstar Abdulrahman, 2015 AFC Asian Player of the Year Khalil and 30-goal Al Jazira front man Mabkhout.
But citing the downturn for previous top rookie and fellow Claret Ahmed Rashid, Al Kamali challenged his prodigious colleague to keep on pushing for improvements.
“Mohamed Al Akbari has been selected as the best young player in the UAE. He must be thinking he can now become the best player in the UAE, like ‘Amoory’ (Abdulrahman) and Ali Mabkhout,” the 27-year-old defender said.
“Last year, Ahmed Rashid won the award. But this year he has not played with Al Wahda – it is the same situation for Al Akbari.
“Al Akbari is the future of the UAE and future of our club, also. He must be thinking to be better than Ali Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil, not to just only think about going to the national team.”
Former captain Al Kamali had only played once for the UAE since the 2015 Asian Cup, prior to starting both defeats.
Despite struggling on his return, the ex-Lyon loanee hoped to be in place for the month-long training camp to Spain which begins in mid-July.
He said: “I was sad before, because I wasn’t with the team for the last two squads. But now, I get to be with the team again.
“It is hard to be in the national team at this moment. But I must do my best to be with the team.”
