The Al Shaab Sentinel
Squad5 Oct 2026
A one-man rearguard from Stanley Nwabali
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Abdullah Al Shamsi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Al Shaab this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Hamad Obaid was unplayable
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match3 Oct 2026
Abdullah Al Shamsi the difference as Al Shaab beat Al Ain
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abdullah Al Shamsi. 1‑0 against Al Ain, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Abdullah Al Shamsi in the eights
A performance of 8.10 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Brahim Sabaouni gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Omar Yaqoob stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Omar Yaqoob and Al Shaab agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
Ahmed Al Junaibi has seen enough of Al Fujairah
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Al Shaab, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Thiago Machado
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Thiago Machado has come out of that comparison in the side, and Al Shaab have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
In brief
- The dugout The view from the dugout
- The dugout The plan did not have a place for Yassine Abdelali
- The dugout Mohamed Ali knocks on the manager’s door