Almoez Ali’s Asian Cup heroics have caught the attention of Serie A giants AC Milan, who had their talent scouts watch the Qatar forward in action during the Continental championship in the UAE.
The 22-year-old Almoez Ali was the standout player in the tournament as his record nine goals, including a spectacular bicycle kick in the final, played a key role in Qatar clinching the Asian title for the first time. Almoez bettered the previous record of eight goals in a single tournament by Iran’s Ali Daei, who had set the mark in 1996. He found the net in four of Qatar’s six matches en route to the final, including a four-goal haul against North Korea in the group stage.
According to La Repubblica, Milan could well make a move for Almoez in the next transfer window. After the Asian Cup, the Al Duhail striker had said he would like to move to Europe to gain experience playing at the top leagues.
After his breakout tournament in the UAE, Almoez has received praise from all over the world, not the least from former Real Madrid and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. “Almoez Ali is an excellent player who can play abroad. I think Almoez is agile. He moves fast,” told Mourinho told beIN Sports recently.
Mourinho watched Almoez in action at the Asian Cup when he was in Doha as a special guest expert for the beIN Sports. “Almoez has all it takes to be playing in another league so that he becomes more competitive. He is young and he needs to be playing in a better league if he wants to become a top players,” Mourinho, who was sacked as Manchester United manager in December, added.
Apart from his goal-scoring feats, Almoez was a tireless worker in the final third of the pitch during the Asian Cup, providing assists for his strike partner Akram Afif.
Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez was effusive in his praise of his young forward.
“It is true to say that Almoez is a very important player, because when we are under pressure he is our first (outlet) and he is someone who does a lot of work,” Sanchez had said.
“When we have the ball, he is a player who is always making runs to try and push and arrive in the box. He has been a very important player for us over the last few years, and (added to that) he now has great confidence in the final third.”
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