UAE are one of the teams with a shouting chance of making it to the World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Due to the proximity of the World Cup competition, UAE are very keen on qualification even if it would mean that they break their embargo with Qatar in order to participate in the actual event. Back in the 2018 qualification campaign, UAE were unable to reach the finals after finishing only fourth in the final rounds of the qualifiers for Asian teams.

Their only appearance in a World Cup for UAE came in 1990. Time is running out for many of the older players in the UAE squad and Mabkhout is one among them. The 29-year-old is keen to make it to the World Cup 2022 for this reason. He is the top scorer for the nation with 60 goals in 83 appearances since his debut in 2012. The forward has been very effective even during the qualifiers, as he has already scored six goals so far. After having appeared in the Under 20 World Cup and Club World Cup,Mabkhout is keen on completing the package. Apart from the win over Yemen in the Gulf cup of Nations, UAE have been disappointing in decent form. The national team’s next match is against Malaysia in October.

Mabkhout has been an influential figure in making sure that UAE have a fighting chance of getting out of group G. The Middle East outfit are three points behind Malaysia in the second spot, which will give an opportunity to reach the next round. The top team will qualify automatically, but Vietnam in the first spot are five points again. The realistic target for UAE will be to take points off Malaysia and Thailand in the next few rounds to reach the third round of qualification.