A wonderful first touch, a stunning volley, a muted celebration – Ali Mabkhout’s early goal against Japan on Friday has been overshadowed by events that came later that night.
Its significance, though, just like his stunning recent international form, cannot be ignored.
UAE fans will be watching closely when Mabkhout leads the line against Australia in the AFC Asian Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
“Of course, we wish him and the team the best of luck,” said Eric Gerets, the striker’s club manager.
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“I hope that when he returns to Al Jazira he gives me the same quality that he has been showing with the national team.
“He has shown great movement and chasing back with the UAE and he has scored important goals.
“Hopefully, when the league restarts this will continue as he can be a fantastic player for Jazira.”
Mabkhout’s form this season has been exceptional.
He was top scorer at the Gulf Cup in Saudi Arabia with five goals and he heads the Asian Cup table with four goals. That gives him nine goals in as many tournament matches since November.
His goal against Bahrain in the group stage after 12 seconds is the fastest in Asian Cup history, while the effort that sailed past Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima was the only goal conceded by the defending champions in this year’s competition.
At every level, Mabkhout, 24, is fulfilling his potential.
In December of 2012, as the UAE prepared to head to the 2013 Gulf Cup in Bahrain, Mabkhout received a valued vote of confidence.
Ricardo Oliveira, the Brazil international and his Jazira strike partner, said of Mabkhout: “I think he will be the best striker in the UAE.”
Since then, the Emirati has been proving him right.
Versatile
Until the 2013 Gulf Cup, Mabkhout was known as a player who needed several chances to convert one. Now he looks likely to score at every opportunity.
Like so many of his colleagues in this UAE squad, he has blossomed under the leadership of coach Mahdi Ali.
It was a shock when he failed to convert Omar Abdulrahman’s brilliantly chipped pass five minutes into the second half against Japan, a chance that could have saved many an Emirati fan’s fingernails.
His almost telepathic understanding with Abdulrahman is an advantage in the national side, as that early goal against Bahrain showed.
At club level, too, he seems to have taken his game to a new level since the arrival of Mirko Vucinic from Juventus.
His continued excellence is even more remarkable considering he rarely plays in his most natural position for his club.
“Like all Emirati strikers, he often finds himself playing out of position due to foreign players occupying the attacking roles,” said Liam Weeks, Jazira’s head of performance analysis.
“Ali can play as a lone striker, second striker or on either wing, and he has played all of these positions this season for Jazira.”
Eye for goal
Mabkhout already has surpassed his goals haul for the 2013/14 season with nine in 12 league matches this term. No other Emirati has more than six.
Weeks calls it a “great testament to the player as he has played a lot of matches on the left wing for Jazira, with Vucinic and Manuel Lanzini the front two and Jonathan Pitroipa playing on the right”.
“You could say that he is playing in his fourth-favourite position,” Weeks said.
Mabkhout has 37 goals in 95 Arabian Gulf League matches.
At international level, his record stands at 24 goals from 35, an excellent rate of return for a player once thought to lack the killer touch.
Maybe it is his understated approach to the game, but at first it is hard to pinpoint what makes him a top striker. In reality, he ticks all the boxes.
“His eye for goal, deadly finishing and incredible pace are his main attributes,” Weeks said.
“He is always the top performer at Al Jazira when it comes to high-intensity distance and sprint distance covered in our matches.
“Through our analysis with both ProZone in matches and GPSports in training, we know that after 75 minutes, Ali has normally covered more high-intensity distance than what most players would cover in a match.”
It is precisely the sort of effort the UAE will require from him against Australia tomorrow.
A goal or two would help, but it is unlikely personal achievements are at the forefront of the striker’s thinking.
“I don’t care about scoring the goals,” he said after the match against Japan. “All I care about is that we win.”
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