Temperamental Al Wahda centre-back Hamdan Al Kamali’s year in the international wilderness has ended after he was recalled by the UAE for Saturday’s friendly against Iceland.
Al Kamali, 26, has not been able to add to his 29 caps since he started the 2015 Asian Cup group stage victory against Bahrain. An injury to Al Ain veteran Ismail Ahmed, 33, has seen coach Mahdi Ali open the door to the former Lyon loanee.
The game – a vital warm-up for March’s decisive AFC second-round qualifiers against Palestine and Saudi Arabia on the long road to the 2018 World Cup – could see Al Nasr right-back Ahmed Al Yassi, 27, handed his debut on home soil at Al Maktoum Stadium.
Ali has been denied the services of a number of players. Al Ain winger Mohamed Abdulrahman is injured, while forwards Ahmed Al Attas of Al Jazira and Mohamed Al Akbari of Al Wahda are among those away at the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship in Qatar which is a qualifier for Rio 2016.
Iceland’s numbers will also be depleted. The Euro 2016 entrants have only selected Scandinavia and China-based players as the match is not being held in a FIFA-designated international week.
