Hamid Al Kamali became the first Emirati to play in the Uefa Champions League when he came on as a substitute in the closing stages of Valletta FC's 4-0 defeat to FC Qarabag of Azerbaijan in Baku on Tuesday night.
Late entry or not, Al Kamali managed to distinguish himself in the last minute of the match, when he cleared a header off the line to prevent a certain goal.
Al Kamali, 21, joined the Maltese champions on a one-year loan from Arabian Gulf League side Al Wahda a month ago, and his introduction in the 84th minute gave him the distinction of being the first player from the UAE to taste any sort of competitive action in European play.
Valletta, already down 1-0 from a loss in the home leg last week, went behind in the 15th minute to goal by Qarabag’s Brazilian striker Reynaldo Silva.
The loss in the second leg of the second qualifying round means Valletta depart the competition after a 5-0 aggregate loss.
The contest was as good as over after two goals were scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half by Chumbinho and Danilo Dias, giving the home said a 3-0 lead.
Leroy George made it 4-0 with 10 minutes to go, but the ordeal for Valletta was not over yet.
Defender Jonathan Caruana had been sent off earlier in the game for drawing a red card, and late in the second half, midfielder Ryan Fenech, a Maltese native, received a second booking for making a reckless challenge, leaving his team to finish the match with nine men.
Al Kamali will have to wait awhile longer to play his second Champions League match, but his first will nonetheless have a special place in UAE football history.
Al Kamali’s older brother, Hamdan, also plays for Al Wahda and is a member of the UAE national team.
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The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
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Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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