Dhafra and Jazira Deliver Before the Break: Week 7 Wins Shake Up the UAE Pro League

Matchday Seven Highlights

The seventh round of the ADNOC Pro League closed on Saturday evening with the home sides prevailing in the last two fixtures of the round: Al Dhafra defeated Kalba 3-0 at Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium, while Al Jazira edged Al Bataeh 1-0 at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.

Dhafra's victory featured an own goal by Kalba defender Mohammed Sabeel in the 17th minute, followed by goals from Mohammed Al-Khloui in the 72nd and Abdul Rahman Sosi in the 79th. The result lifted Dhafra to sixth on 12 points, while Kalba dropped to seventh on 11.

In the other game, Simon Banza struck in the 27th minute to give Al Jazira a 1-0 win, lifting them to 13 points and fifth place; Al Bataeh remained rooted at 12th with 3 points, just a point ahead of the relegation battle involving Dibba and Bani Yas at 13th and 14th respectively.

With the round completed, Al Ain still led the table on 19 points, two clear of Al Wahda in second. Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club sat third, level on points with Al Wasl in fourth on the basis of goal difference.

Meanwhile, Ajman were eighth on 9 points, Al Nasr ninth on 8, with Khorfakkan in tenth on goal difference, and Sharjah eleventh on seven.

Results, Context and Next Steps

The remaining results on Matchweek Seven saw Al Ain beat Ajman 3-0, Al Wahda defeat Al Nasr 3-2, Shabab Al Ahli beat Sharjah 2-0, and a 1-1 draw between Khorfakkan and Al Wasl, while Bani Yas and Dibba drew 2-2.

The ADNOC Pro League goes on hiatus after Week Seven due to the international window, with the UAE national team facing Iraq in two legs in Abu Dhabi (Nov 13) and Basra (Nov 18) as part of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Punchline 1: If football ever needs a new defense strategy, just park the bus—right in front of the goal and politely wave at the attacker like a traffic cop. Punchline 2: And if the whistle had a sound effect for every time a VAR call went the wrong way, we’d all be wearing earplugs by now.