Ahmed Khalil Sebait Mubarak Al-Junaibi (Arabic: أحمد خليل سبيت مبارك الجنيبي; born June 8, 1991) is an Emirati football player who plays as a forward for Al-Ittifaq, a team in the UAE First Division League.
In 2006, Ahmed won the GCC U-17 Championship with the UAE U17 team. He scored five goals and was the top scorer in the tournament. Later that year, he joined the senior team of his club. The following season, while playing for Al-Ahli, Ahmed helped his team win the President Cup. He scored four goals and was the top scorer in the competition.
In 2008, Ahmed won the Super Cup and the Pro-League 2008–2009 with his club. He also played for the UAE U20 team, which won the AFC U-19 Championship 2008. Ahmed scored four goals and was named the top scorer and player of the tournament. He was recognized as the Most Promising Arab Player of the Year by Al-Ahram and Al Hadath magazines and also received the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award.
In 2009, Ahmed led the UAE U20 team to the Quarter-finals of the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored two goals in the tournament. He was named the Most Promising Arab Player of the Year for the second time by Al-Ahram and was nominated for the Asian Young Footballer of the Year award twice.
In 2010, Ahmed continued his strong performance. He helped the UAE Olympic football team win the GCC U-23 Championship by scoring five goals and being the top scorer. He also led the UAE team to its first-ever football silver medal at the Asian Games, scoring three goals in the tournament. Ahmed was named Best Young Athlete Player of the Year by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award.
In 2015, Ahmed was named Asian Footballer of the Year. He led his club to the final of the AFC Champions League and helped the UAE team reach third place in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.
Early life
Ahmed was born on June 8, 1991, in Sharjah. He comes from a family with a strong history in football. His father, Khalil Sebait, used to play for a football club in Kuwait. Ahmed's brothers, Fahd, Fouad (who is retired), Faisal, Fathi, Mohamed, and Ahmed, all played for Al Ahli.
Club career
Ahmed began his career at the Red Fort at the age of eight. He joined the youth teams and moved up to the first team during the middle of the 2006–07 season under French coach Alan Michel. On May 13, 2007, when Ahmed was 16 years old, he scored his first goal for the club and in the league during the 89th minute and 3 seconds of a 4–1 victory over Al Wahda.
On March 18, 2010, Ahmad scored his first hat-trick of the season against Al-Nasr SC. The match ended in a 4–2 win for Al Ahli. On March 30, 2010, Khalil scored a goal in the 42nd minute during a match against Al-Hilal in the AFC Champions League. The game ended 3–2 in favor of Al-Hilal.
In June 2009, news reported that Khalil would join the Premier League after Sulaiman Al-Fahim stated that Portsmouth needed Khalil’s services.
On August 26, 2010, Ahmed started the season with a 2–0 loss against Al Dhafra in his first match. On September 2, 2010, he scored his first goal of the season in a 4–1 win over Al Wasl. His scoring streak ended after this match. On September 24, 2010, Ahmed assisted teammate Ahmad Khamis against Al Jazira, resulting in a 2–2 draw. He again assisted Khamis to score a goal in a 3–1 win against Dubai on October 15, 2010. After missing five games, Ahmed returned to score a free kick in a 2–1 victory over Al Sharjah. In the final match of 2010, he assisted teammate Pinga in a 1–0 win against Baniyas. His first goal of 2011 came against Al Jazira with a penalty kick during a 5–1 away loss. He continued scoring in the next match against Dubai, which ended in a 2–1 away loss. After two games without scoring, he scored the tying goal in a 1–1 draw against Al Sharjah, which ended in a 2–3 away victory.
Ahmed started the season with Al Ahli by defeating Kazma 1–0 in the first leg of the GCC Champions League Semi-final.
In the summer of 2017, Ahmed joined Al Jazira Club through a free transfer agreement.
International career
Ahmed is one of the few players who has played for three national teams at the same time: under-20, under-23, and the UAE senior team. He began playing for the under-20 team in 2006 when he was 15 years old. He has made more than 70 appearances for the UAE at junior levels (under-17, under-19, under-20, and under-23) and has played 13 matches for the senior team.
Ahmed first joined a national team with the under-17 squad. In 2006, he helped the team win the GCC U-17 Championship in Saudi Arabia. He scored 5 goals in 5 matches and was named the Golden Boot winner. In 2008, while playing for the under-20 team in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, he was part of the team that won the AFC U-19 Championship. He scored two goals in the final match against Uzbekistan and was named Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot winner with 4 goals. In 2009, he led the under-20 team to the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored two goals, one against Honduras from a free kick and another against Venezuela.
In 2010, Ahmed helped the UAE under-23 team win the GCC U-23 Championship. He scored 5 goals in 4 matches and was the top scorer. Two months later, he led the team to win the UAE’s first-ever silver medal at the Asian Games. He scored three goals, including two in a match against Uzbekistan.
On October 4, 2010, Ahmed scored a last-minute goal in a match against Japan, but the team lost 2–1. In the next match, he played against Jordan and the game ended 0–0. In his third match, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Vietnam. In the quarterfinals against Australia, he scored a penalty to make the score 1–1 and later helped tie the match again at 2–2. The game went to extra time and ended 4–2 in favor of Australia. Ahmed scored six of his team’s seven goals in the tournament.
On January 11, 2011, Ahmed played his first official match for the UAE senior team against North Korea. The match ended 0–0, and he was substituted in the 77th minute. In his next match against Iraq, the team lost 1–0. In the final group match of the Asian Cup, the UAE lost 3–0 to Iran, and Ahmed did not score any goals.
Ahmed was included in Mahdi Ali’s squad for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the UAE’s first appearance in the event. He played against Uruguay, but the team lost 1–2. He also played matches against Great Britain and Senegal, which ended 1–3 and 1–1, respectively. The UAE finished last in the group, and Ahmed did not score any goals.
Ahmed was named in the UAE’s final squad for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia. He started in the opening match against Qatar and scored two goals in a 4–1 win. He was named the man of the match and was the second-highest scorer in the tournament.
On September 3, 2015, Ahmed scored four goals in a 10–0 win against Malaysia in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.