Talisman Ismail Matar returns to UAE squad
dubai — Veteran striker Ismail Matar has made a dramatic return to the UAE National football squad after more than a year in the wilderness.
The Al Wahda talisman was named in the 28-man squad announced by coach Alberto Zaccheroni on Wednesday for the third camp in Barcelona, Spain, from October 6 to 16.
The 35-year-old, capped 95 times by the UAE, is back in the scheme of things as Zaccheroni feels he would have a massive part to play when the country hosts the AFC Asian Cup on home soil next January.
Matar, a highly-decorated hero for both club and country, last wore the UAE ‘Whites’ in a competitive fixture in the Asia Zone World Cup Qualifier against Iraq in September last year.
He captained the side that lost to the Iraqis by a solitary goal in Amman, Jordan.
His last game for the UAE was also against Iraq, in an international friendly which they won 1-0 in Abu Dhabi last December.
Matar last scored for the UAE in their World Cup qualifier against Iraq, which they won 2-0, at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi in November 2016.
Since then, he hasn’t featured for the UAE in the Gulf Cup in Kuwait, where the UAE finished runners-up to Oman, the King’s Cup in Thailand, as well as the international friendlies against Andorra, Trinidad and Tobago, and Laos.
Although on the other side of 30, Matar’s addition will be a big boost for Zaccheroni, who is plotting UAE’s maiden title in Asia’s biggest competition after a runners-up finish at home in 1996 and third place in Australia in 2015.
Matar, Fifa Under-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament in 2003, can be used in short bursts as an impact player.
The Italian coach has also included exciting young talent Mohamed Al Shamsi, to the roster. The 21-year-old Al Wahda shot stopper was impressive as the UAE won bronze at the Asian Games in Indonesia last month.
Al Shamsi’s Al Wahda teammates — defenders Ahmed Rashid and Salem Sultan — and midfielder Sultan Al Ghaferi have also received call-ups, so has defender Al Jazira’s Khalifa Mubarak Al Hammadi and midfielder Khalfan Mubarak,
Defenders Al Ain’s Mohannad Salem, Shabab Al Ahli’s Mohammed Marzooq and Walid Abbas have been left out.
Two international friendlies against Honduras and Venezuela have been pencilled in during the UAE’s stay in Barcelona, home to La Liga champions FC Barcelona. The UAE take on Honduras on October 11 and Venezuela on October 16.