The absence of Sultan Adel from Shabab Al-Ahly will not affect his joining the national team

Shabab Al-Ahly coach, the Portuguese Paulo Sousa, revealed that the absence of striker Sultan Adel from the team’s match that was held in Dubai, on Tuesday evening, against Nasaf of Uzbekistan, in the third round of the AFC Champions League, will not affect the team that is preparing to continue its journey in the qualifying playoff for the 2026 World Cup. Sousa said to “Emirates Al-Youm”: “Sultan Adel missed the Nasaf match due to his exposure to severe cold, and he entered “The hospital during the past hours, so we preferred not to risk it.”

Souza added: “The player will soon return to training, and will be ready to participate in the next match. He is one of the important elements in the team’s offensive line, and we expect him to return fully fit within a few days.”

The national team is preparing to face Iraq on November 13, first leg, and on November 18, and the winner of the two matches will move on to play in the global playoff, which will include six teams competing for two places in the World Cup.

Sources close to Shabab Al-Ahly confirmed that Sultan Adel is in good health, and is expected to join the camp on time, as the league will stop starting next week, after holding the seventh round competitions, followed by the team gathering, and starting to enter the atmosphere of the first-leg match against Iraq scheduled for the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in the capital, Abu Dhabi.

Shabab Al-Ahly and national team striker Sultan Adel (21 years old) continues to confirm his position as one of the most prominent emerging attacking talents in UAE football, after becoming an example of a player who does not need many minutes to make a difference, whether in his club shirt or with the national team in decisive matches.

Although he is one of the least visible players this season with Shabab Al-Ahly and the national team alike, he is one of the most influential players in important times, as his name has been linked with fateful goals in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

Sultan Adel scored the fatal winning goal against North Korea in stoppage time in the group stage of the World Cup qualifiers, before scoring the UAE’s only goal against Qatar in the Asian playoff, despite coming on as a substitute in the second half, confirming that he has an exceptional scoring sense and presence of mind in critical moments.

The player raised his score to eight international goals in 15 matches with the national team, a high rate that reflects his technical value and his ability to invest every opportunity he gets in front of goal.

As for the club level, Sultan Adel’s participation with Shabab Al-Ahly has been limited since last season, as he only appeared this season in the ADNOC Professional League in one match against Ittihad Kalba, during which he played a full 90 minutes, while he participated in the AFC Champions League for the elite in only two matches, as he missed the confrontation with Nasaf of Uzbekistan due to illness, and he participated eight minutes against Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad, and 56 minutes against the Iranian Tractor.

Last season, Sultan only appeared in two matches with Shabab Al-Ahly, during which he scored a goal against Dibba Al-Hisn, for a total of only 80 minutes of play, but despite that, he proved to be the most effective among the local strikers in crucial times.