Ismail Al Hammadi is ready to leap into UAE football’s central limelight

For years the winger has been a regular for the national team, but playing time has been sporadic. His early season form for Al Ahli could soon change that as the UAE host Malaysia in a 2018 World Cup qualifier on Thursday, writes Ali Khaled.

Ismail Al Hammadi, centre, hugs Ismail Ahmed after his goal during the quarter-final match between Japan and UAE at the AFC Asian Cup in Sydney on January 23, 2015. AFP PHOTO / Saeed KHAN

When Mahdi Ali sits down to pick his team for Wednesday night’s World Cup qualifier against Malaysia, one name should be the first on the team sheet. And, no, it’s not who you think it is.

For someone whose goal won the UAE a second Gulf Cup of Nations, Ismail Al Hammadi can sometimes seem overlooked, marginalised to the edges of the national team’s recent successes.

This could be about to change for the most in-form player in the country. After a stunning start to the 2015/16 season, the Al Ahli winger is ready to take centre stage.

It has been two-and-a-half years since his 107th-minute goal gave Mahdi Ali’s men a 2-1 extra-time win over Iraq in the Gulf Cup final in Bahrain. Since then, he has continued to be one of the coach’s trusted core, though not always first choice and not always in the thick of the action.

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Al Hammadi’s appearance record at major competitions since Mahdi Ali took over as the senior national coach is a curious one. He has taken part in 15 of 16 tournament matches and yet completed a full match only once.

At the 2013 Gulf Cup he was taken off in all three group matches and did not play in the semi-final win over Kuwait, before coming on in the final to score the winner.

In the same competition the following year, in Saudi Arabia, he again was substituted in all the group matches, introduced in the semi-final defeat against the hosts and taken off again in the third-place play-off win over Oman.

At the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia his role was mostly reversed. He came off the bench five times: in three group matches, the semi-final loss to the hosts and the third-place play-off. Ironically, he completed all 120 minutes in the quarter-final win over holders Japan, which the UAE won on penalties.

Clearly, it is not a matter of trust, as Mahdi Ali continues to select him time and again. Nor is it a fitness issue, at least not entirely.

More likely is that the Emirati coach envisions specific tactical roles for the Ahli winger. For the UAE, Al Hammadi is required, along with his fellow attackers, to be the first line of defence, consistently pressing the opposition in their own half. In addition, as one of the wide attackers in Mahdi Ali’s 4-3-3, he is often tasked with stretching defences from the start. It is no surprise he is often withdrawn once his energies run out.

Alternatively, he brings a dynamism to the team when introduced late in matches and his speed is an ideal weapon to use against tiring opposition defenders, as it proved in the 2013 Gulf Cup final in Manama.

Still, there is little doubt that Al Hammadi does not enjoy the higher profile of teammates Omar Abdulrahman, Ali Mabkhout and even his talented but inconsistent club colleague Ahmed Khalil. Until now.

Al Hammadi has started the season on fire, scoring a hat-trick in the 8-1 Arabian Gulf League thrashing of Fujairah.

Considering he scored only three league goals in each of the previous two league seasons, he looks set to easily beat his best campaign tally, six, which he has achieved twice before.

It is not just the goals that have impressed. It may be early in the season, but his movement has been impressing since the end of 2014/15, especially in Al Ahli’s successful Asian Champions League run.

This season, he has noticeably been on the ball more than in the past, increasingly moving into the centre of the attack rather than hugging the touchline and running down blind alleys, as he was prone to do in the past.

Last Wednesday, he played a central role in Ahli’s excellent 1-0 win over Naft Tehran in the Champions League quarter-final first leg that leaves Al Ahli on the brink of the semi-finals of the continent’s top club competition.

More of this, and he will no longer be in the shadows of Omar and co. And, who knows, he might even play 90 minutes against Malaysia tonight.

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