Qatar’s Almoez Ali (left) and Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al Dawsari shake hands during a press conference on the eve of the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022, yesterday. AFP
Doha, Qatar: Qatar striker Almoez Ali feels his nomination for the AFC Player of the Year award is a childhood dream come true, saying to be rated among the top three Asian players gives him great sense of pride.
The influential Al Duhail captain is vying for the continent’s biggest individual prize with Saudi Arabian superstar Salem Al Dawsari and Australian forward Mathew Leckie at the AFC Annual Awards Doha 2022, which takes place at Qatar National Convention Centre tonight.
“It’s such a great feeling to be among the top three players in Asia. It has always been one of my childhood dreams to be among the top Asian players and to be honest, I used to look up to Salem [Al Dawsari] and see his good performances, so this nomination is very motivational for me,” Almoez sitting alongside Al Dawsari said at a press conference yesterday.
Almoez has been nominated for the top award after a string of phenomenal performances in the last season particularly with Al Duhail as he helped his longtime club seal a domestic treble – Qatar Stars League, Ooredoo Cup and Qatar Cup – and guided them to the semi-final of the AFC Champions League.
The 27-year-old also became Qatar’s joint all-time top scorer with his 42nd goal in November 2022.
With the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 on the horizon, Almoez is now looking to etch his name in history books as among the all-time great footballers of the continent.
After breaking Iranian legendary striker Ali Daei’s record of eight goals in a single Asian Cup, Almoez, who scored nine goals in Qatar’s triumphant campaign in tournament’s 2019 edition, wants to become top scorer in history of the competition.
“I want to break that record and I am looking forward to it but my priority will be to help Qatar in the successful title defence,” said Almoez, who is five goals behind Daei’s record of 14 goals.
Asked to pick his best moment from the last season, he said: “After the World Cup, when we were back to playing with our club, it was the best because I was able to bring the experience from the national team to my club. Thankfully, it was very successful, and we were able to win three titles.”
Meanwhile, Al Dawsari said he was proud to be among the nominees for the prestigious accolade.
“Thankfully, I was nominated for this. I want to thank all my colleagues at Al Hilal and the national team because they have helped me reach this achievement and go this far,” said the forward, who scored the winning goal in Saudi Arabia’s famous victory against eventual champions Argentina at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
“It will be a great achievement for Saudi Arabia if I win. A player has to be passionate and ambitious. If I win tomorrow, my ambition will not stop at that and it will just give me more of a boost to keep performing for my club and national team.”
The 32-year-old picked the Green Falcons’ 2-1 win against the Lionel Messi’s side at Lusail Stadium as his most memorable moment in the last season.
“It was such a happy feeling and a historic moment to score against Argentina. But, my ambition will never be to win just one game; a player should always work harder and harder (to achieve more),” said Al Dawsari.
