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United Arab Emirates
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A team across generations
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The 330 on the pitch
The duels
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The 33 of United Arab Emirates.
Editorial order, with a career scene and sources behind every name.
01
AA
Adnan Al-Talyani 161 caps (Emirates) · 52 goals · Al-Shaab CSCIn Singapore on 28 October 1989 he scored in the 16th minute against South Korea, and the 1-1 draw that followed carried the UAE to Italia 90, the only World Cup the country has reached.
ST1983–1997
02
IM
Ismail Matar 136 caps (Emirates) · 36 goals · Al-Wahda S.C.C., Al Sadd Sports ClubOn 30 January 2007 at Zayed Sports City he beat Oman with a 72nd-minute goal to win the UAE the Gulf Cup, the fifth of five in a tournament he left as top scorer and best player.
SS2003–2021
03
OA
Omar Abdulrahman Al AinOn 3 September 2015 in Abu Dhabi, he set up six of the ten goals as the United Arab Emirates beat Malaysia 10-0 in World Cup qualifying and was named man of the match.
CAM2011–2022
04
AM
Ali Mabkhout Al Jazira ClubFourteen seconds into the UAE's group game against Bahrain in Canberra on 15 January 2015, Mabkhout had already scored, the fastest goal in Asian Cup history.
ST2012–
05
AK
Ahmed Khalil Four of the ten went to him on 3 September 2015, when the UAE buried Malaysia at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in a World Cup qualifier that finished 10-0.About the editorial selection
ST
06
FK
Fahad Khamis 82 caps (Emirates) · 37 goals · Al WaslItaly, summer 1990: the UAE walked out for the only World Cup they have ever reached, and it was Khamis in the number seven shirt wearing the captain's armband against Colombia and Yugoslavia.
ST1981–1990
07
KI
Khalid Ismail A minute into the second half at the San Siro on 15 June 1990, two goals down to West Germany, he scored the first World Cup goal the United Arab Emirates ever had, and Lothar Matthäus answered sixty seconds later.
LM1985–1990
08
ZB
Zuhair Bakhit 112 caps (Emirates) · 27 goals · Al WaslThe 1987-88 season ended with him as the league's leading scorer, and he was still at Al Wasl sixteen years later, the only club he ever played for.
LM1988–2002
09
FK
Faisal Khalil 67 caps (Emirates) · 12 goals · Shabab AlAhli Dubai Club, Al WaslThe number that follows him is 82 league goals in 126 games for Al Ahli between 1999 and 2006, a run that ended with a move to Châteauroux in France where he never played a competitive match.
SS2002–2008
10
MM
Mohsin Musabah Eighteen seasons and 678 appearances at Al-Sharjah, one club from 1984 to 2002, and in between he started all three of the United Arab Emirates' matches at Italia 90.About the editorial selection
GK
13
AJ
Abdulrahim Jumaa 116 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Emirates) · Al-Wahda S.C.C., Al Jazira ClubWearing the armband at Zayed Sports City on 30 January 2007, he saw Ismail Matar's 72nd-minute goal settle the Gulf Cup final against Oman and hand the United Arab Emirates the first trophy in their history.
CDM1998–
16
IA
Ismail Ahmed 45 caps (Emirates) · Al AinHe led Al Ain out as captain against Real Madrid in the Club World Cup final at Zayed Sports City on 22 December 2018, ten years into a one-club career that ran to 192 league games and 19 goals from centre-back.
CB2012–2019
17
WA
Walid Abbas 106 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Emirates) · Al Shabab Al Arabi Club, Shabab AlAhli Dubai Club
LB2008–2023
18
BS
Basheer Saeed 57 caps (Emirates) · Al-Wahda S.C.C., Shabab AlAhli Dubai ClubHe kept scoring for a defender, his international goals landing against Yemen at the 2007 Gulf Cup and against Vietnam, North Korea and Lebanon in World Cup qualifying between 2007 and 2012.
CB2002–2012
19
HA
Hamdan Al-Kamali 58 caps (Emirates) · Al-Wahda S.C.C., Shabab AlAhli Dubai ClubJean-Michel Aulas presented him in Lyon on 28 January 2012, a six-month loan with an option to buy that ended in eight reserve-team games and not a single minute for the first team.
CB2008–2019
20
IA
Ismail Al-Hammadi 116 caps (Emirates) · 13 goals · Shabab AlAhli Dubai Club, Khor Fakkan ClubSeventeen minutes into extra time in Riffa on 18 January 2013, he scored the goal that won the UAE the Gulf Cup final against Iraq, arriving after Younis Mahmoud had dragged the match past ninety minutes.
RM2007–2019
21
MN
Majed Naser Al-Fujairah, Al WaslIn 2012 he was banned for seventeen matches for slapping an opposing coach and announced he was quitting, which followed a full year's suspension in 2001 and another ban for confronting an assistant referee in 2007.
GK2006–
22
AS
Abdulaziz Sanqour Sharjah, Shabab AlAhli Dubai ClubNumber 14 in Mahdi Ali's squad at London 2012, he was there when the United Arab Emirates walked out at Wembley on 29 July and Ryan Giggs scored inside sixteen minutes for Great Britain.
RB2012–
23
BA
Bandar Al-Ahbabi 44 caps (Emirates) · Al Ain, Al-DhafraOn 30 August 2019 Bandar Al-Ahbabi scored for the United Arab Emirates in Riffa, in a 4-0 friendly against the Dominican Republic.
RB2015–2023
27
MA
Mohammed Abdulrahman On 18 December 2018 Al Ain put River Plate out of the Club World Cup on penalties, and four days later he was part of the squad beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid in the final at Zayed Sports City.About the editorial selection
CAM
28
MS
Mohanad Salem 65 caps (Emirates) · Al Dhafra Club, Al AinThe first goal of the United Arab Emirates' 10-0 win over Malaysia at Zayed Sports City on 3 September 2015 came from a centre-back, and it was Salem, then in his eighth season at Al Ain. The 2013 Gulf Cup leads it, then third place at the 2015 Asian Cup, a run to the 2016 AFC Champions League final where he partnered Ismail Ahmed at centre-back, and fourteen years at Al Ain across 181 league games.
CB2008–2018
29
AH
Abdelaziz Hussain 50 (as of 4 October 2026) caps (Emirates) · Al Shabab Al Arabi Club, Shabab AlAhli Dubai ClubFourteen seasons at Al Ahli in Dubai brought him 245 appearances and three goals, a run that outlasted the 2017 merger which turned the club into Shabab Al Ahli.
LB2011–
30
AM
Abdulaziz Mohamed SharjahSharjah signed him as a teenager in 1980 and he was still registered there in 2003, twenty-three seasons in one shirt, the last of them long after his 1993-94 season as the league's leading scorer.
CM
Career sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q3603400
33
HA
Hareb Abdullah Shabab AlAhli Dubai ClubOn 29 March 2022 at Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai he scored the only goal against South Korea in a World Cup qualifier, at nineteen, the son of the former international Abdullah Suhail.
RM
Career sources
Identity and career · Wikidata Q79351741About this XI
At the head of United Arab Emirates's pool stand Adnan Al-Talyani, Ismail Matar and Omar Abdulrahman. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 14 midfielders and 6 forwards, with sourced senior international careers spanning the 1980s to the 2020s. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then explore the careers and settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.
Who is the greatest United Arab Emirates footballer of all time?
The editorial collection starts with Adnan Al-Talyani. Its first five careers: Adnan Al-Talyani, Ismail Matar, Omar Abdulrahman, Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Khalil. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.
How were these 33 United Arab Emirates players chosen?
The collection covers every position across United Arab Emirates's football history. Honours, international records and career achievements inform the editorial order. Each entry opens a career note and its sources. Fan votes in the duels build a separate ranking.
Where can I read about the careers?
Open a player page from the collection to read the career scene, club record and recorded honours. The source links show where the available records come from.
Can I build and share my own United Arab Emirates all-time XI?
Yes. Pick one of 8 formations, place any of the 33 players onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.