Khaled Issa and Khasif are the last remaining members of the “Gulf 21” generation.

The national football team’s goalkeepers, veterans Khaled Issa (35 years old) and Ali Khaseef (37 years old), became the last remaining members of the generation team that won the “Gulf 21” title, during the edition that was held in 2013 in Bahrain.

Al-Abyad won the championship cup at that time, after defeating the Iraqi team 2-1 in the final match. Note that this title won by Al-Abyad, under the leadership of national coach Mahdi Ali, is the second in the team’s history after winning the “Gulf 18” championship title, which was held in Abu Dhabi 2007. .

Khaled Issa and Ali Khaseef, who represent role models for the rest of their fellow players as they are the eldest, are preparing to travel with the national team, the day after tomorrow, to Kuwait, in preparation for participating in “Gulf 26”, as part of a list chosen by Portuguese coach Paulo Bento, which includes 26 players.

The national team will launch its matches in “Gulf 26” by meeting the Qatari national team on the 21st of this month, within the first group that includes both the Kuwaiti and Oman national teams.

Despite their advanced age, both Khaled Issa and Khasif have maintained their presence in the national team’s roster over the past years, whether in Gulf championships or Asian participations, and are currently considered to be pillars of Al-Abyad.

Both Khasif and Khaled Issa are considered among the best goalkeepers in the UAE League, and each of them remained in the starting lineup for his team, as Khasif played in the starting lineup for Al Jazira in 10 out of 10 matches that Al Jazira played in the ADNOC Professional League this season, and the minutes he played amounted to 900 minutes, while Khaled Issa played as a starter in eight of the nine matches Al Ain have played so far, and the playing minutes he played amounted to 720 minutes.

The list of the team that won Gulf 21 at the time included 23 players, namely: Ali Khasif, Khaled Issa, Daoud Suleiman, Abdulaziz Heikal, Abdulaziz Sanqur, Ismail Al-Hammadi, Ahmed Khalil, Majed Hassan, Muhammad Fawzi, Amer Abdulrahman, Haboush Saleh, Ali Al-Amiri, Abdullah. Musa, Khamis Ismail, Ali Mabkhout, Walid Abbas, Muhammad Ahmed, Muhannad Al-Anazi, Omar Abdul Rahman, Habib Al Fardan, Hamdan Al Kamali, Saeed Al Kathiri and Ismail Matar.

The starting lineup for the team that won the 21st Gulf title included: Ali Khasif in goalkeeping, and in defense: Muhammad Ahmed, Abdulaziz Heikal, Muhannad Salem, and Abdulaziz Sanqur, and in the middle: Omar Abdulrahman, Amer Abdulrahman, Habib Al-Fardan, and Khamis Ismail. In attack: Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout, while Ismail Al Hammadi, who scored the winning goal, participated in the second half.

For his part, the technical lecturer for goalkeepers in the Asian Football Confederation and the technical supervisor for goalkeepers at the Sharjah Club, Hassan Ismail, told Emirates Al-Youm: “The technical level of the two goalkeepers, Ali Khaseef and Khaled Issa, is distinguished, whether with the national team or with their teams.” Pointing out that he expects them to shine with the national team during the upcoming Gulf Championship, given the long experience that each of them possesses, in addition to their distinguished technical performance.

Hassan Ismail, who previously worked as a coach for the national team’s goalkeepers, added, “The technical level is what determines the goalkeepers’ performance, not age, which is just a number.”

Regarding the advice that he could provide to the two goalkeepers, Khaled Issa and Ali Khasif, before the start of the next Gulf Championship, Hassan Ismail explained, “Khasif and Khaled Issa know very well the character of the Arabian Gulf Cup tournaments, both in terms of media and public pressure, so I advise them to stay away from media pressure and deal wisely with… Championship matches, and certainly both of them have the experience that enables them to provide a high technical level.”

Hassan Ismail wished the team success and the happiness of its fans in this tournament, stressing the importance of the team thinking about the first stage of advancing to the next round.