Ahmed Kano


Ahmed Mubarak Obaid al-Mahaijri, commonly known as Ahmed Mubarak or Ahmed Kano, is an Omani professional footballer who plays as a midfielder.

Club career

Kano has previously played for various clubs in GCC countries with clubs like Al-Wehda Club, Al-Ahli SC, Al-Fateh SC and Ettifaq FC of KSA, Al Ain S.C.C. and Dubai C.S.C. of the UAE, Al-Wakra, Al Rayyan Sports Club and Al-Sailiya Sport Club of Qatar and Al Naser Sporting Club of Kuwait. On 5 September 2013, he signed a one-year contract with 2012–13 Oman Elite League runners-up Fanja SC. On 13 July 2014, he signed a one-year contract with his first professional club Al-Oruba SC.

International career

Kano was a part of the first team squad of the Oman national football team. He was selected for the national team for the first time in 2003, along with Ahmed Hadid, Badar Al-Maimani and Ali Al-Habsi.

Arabian Gulf Cup

Kano has made appearances in the 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, and the 2017 editions of the Arabian Gulf Cup.
In the 2003 edition of the tournament, he scored one goal in an important 2−0 win against the United Arab Emirates. In the 2014 edition, he scored one goal in a close 1−1 draw against Iraq. And in the 2017 edition, he managed to score a critical penalty kick in a difficult 1−0 win against the hosts Kuwait.
Kano won the most valuable player award of the 2017 Gulf Cup for his role in the success of the Omani team tournament campaign.

AFC Asian Cup

Kano has made appearances in the 2004 Asian Cup qualifiers, the 2004 Asian Cup, the 2007 Asian Cup qualifiers, the 2007 Asian Cup, the 2011 Asian Cup qualifiers, the 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers, the 2015 Asian Cup, and the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers.

FIFA World Cup qualification

Kano has made a total of four appearances in the 2006 [FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers], six in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and fourteen in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
In the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, he scored one goal in a 1−1 draw against Japan.
He scored three goals in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The first one came in the second round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in a 2−0 win over Myanmar, and the other two goals were scored in the fourth round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, one in a 2−1 win over Jordan and another in a 1−2 loss against Japan. Oman entered the last game of group play with a chance to qualify for at least the playoff-round, but a 1−0 loss to Jordan eliminated them from the competition.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
131 December 2003Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Adiliya, Kuwait City, Kuwait1–02–016th Arabian Gulf Cup-
231 March 2004Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, India2–15–12006 FIFA World Cup qualification-
331 March 2004Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, India3–15–12006 FIFA World Cup qualification-
41 December 2004Bahrain National Stadium, Manama, Bahrain1–03–2Friendly-
528 June 2007Jurong West Sports and Recreation Centre, Singapore, Singapore1–22–2Friendly-
67 June 2008Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat, Oman1–01–12010 FIFA World Cup qualification-
729 March 2011Seeb Stadium, Seeb, Oman1–02–1Friendly-
829 March 2011Seeb Stadium, Seeb, Oman2–12–1Friendly-
928 July 2011Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar2–02–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification-
1016 October 2012Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman1–02–12014 FIFA World Cup qualification-
1114 November 2012Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman1–11–22014 FIFA World Cup qualification-
1227 May 2014Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan1–01–0Friendly-
1317 November 2014Prince [Faisal bin Fahd Stadium], Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1–11–122nd Arabian Gulf Cup-
142 October 2015Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman2–02–1Friendly-
1513 October 2015Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman1–03–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification-
1624 March 2016Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification-
1728 March 2017Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman2–014–02019 [AFC Asian Cup qualification – third round|2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification]-
1813 June 2017Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Al-Ram, Palestine1–21–22019 AFC Asian Cup qualification-
1910 October 2017National Football Stadium, Malé, Maldives3–13–12019 AFC Asian Cup qualification-
2025 December 2017Jaber International Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait1–01–023rd Arabian Gulf Cup-
212 January 2019Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–02–0Friendly-
2217 January 2019Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–03–12019 AFC Asian Cup-
2320 March 2019Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1–05–02019 Airmarine Cup-
2428 August 2019Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat, Oman1–01–0Friendly-

Notes:

Honours

Al-Oruba
Al-Ain
Al-Rayyan
Al-Sailiya
Al-Ahli
Al-Ettifaq
Fanja