Yusuf Ahmed reveals how he came to making his international debut for Somalia

After a “beautiful” finish to Avondale’s double-winning season, Yusuf Ahmed explains how he ended up making his international debut for Somalia.

Yusuf Ahmed in action for Avondale. Picture: Josh Chadwick

A tip from Yusuf Ahmed’s family led to his “crazy” international debut for Somalia.

A whirlwind trip to Algeria saw the 26-year-old Avondale forward earn his first cap for the “Ocean Stars” and mark the occasion with a record-making debut goal.

The 65th minute strike was just Somalia’s fourth in the country’s World Cup qualifying history.

Ahmed started the 3-1 loss to Algeria, which featured the likes of Riyah Mahrez and Houssem Aouar, and backed it up with another start against Uganda in a 1-0 defeat.

The newly-minted international star revealed how he ended up in light blue.

SOMALIA GOAL ⚽️

ALGERIA 2-1 SOMALIA!

GAME ON! pic.twitter.com/A3PmPnMWg7

— SOMALI ATHLETE (@SomaliAthlete) November 16, 2023

“It was unbelievable, a crazy experience,” Ahmed said.

“A family member knew someone in the federation and told them you have a player in Australia.

“They didn’t know much about me, we sent them a clip, they liked what they saw and they said come down.

“It was a tough game but we did well, everyone thought it would be eight or nine nil.

“Then we got an early red card (against Uganda) that killed us and we were defending most of the game after that.

“We have another eight games left and we’re going to try and do something special.”

Somalia is currently ranked 198th in the world, second last among African countries.

The goal against Algeria immediately etches him into the country’s record books.

A set piece play saw Ahmed all alone for a tap-in.

Algeria goalkeeper Anthony Mandréa did well to deny Sak Hassan’s shot deflecting the ball onto the far post where it fell to Ahmed unmarked.

Yusuf Ahmed in action for Avondale. Picture: Josh Chadwick

“It was a lucky goal but I’ll take it,” Ahmed said.

“It was a big goal for the country, it was the fourth World Cup qualifying goal for the country.”

The international opportunity comes on the back of a standout NPL Victoria season with Avondale.

Ahmed was a key factor in the Avengers’ history-making championship, premiership double, scoring 11 goals – tied for eighth most in the competition.

He added another two in two Australia Cup outings.

Ahmed was coach Zoran Markovski’s Mr Fix-It during the season, playing a number of roles across the forward line and in midfield, and put in an impressive performance in the stunning 4-0 grand final thumping of South Melbourne.

“It was a massive season, we’ve been trying to get a trophy for four or five years now and we finally did it and got the double,” he said.

“Everything went right, we lost once the whole year … and then against our rivals South Melbourne, it was a beautiful way to finish the season.

“I was on the bench for the first couple of games and then I started at striker.

“I was there for a couple of games and then we lost Yitay (Towns), he went on holidays, and then Many (Aguek) left as well and we signed George Mells but he wasn’t in the team yet so I played midfield.

“I did well in the midfield, so I stayed in the midfield, and every game I’d start in the midfield and Zoc would put me on the left, 10 minutes up top, 10 minutes on the right and then back in the middle.

“I liked it, you learn how to play different positions and I hate not touching the ball, so I didn’t mind it.”

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Ahmed is set to return to Avondale for 2024 as the club looks to go back-to-back.

He’ll look to continue his international career when Somalia plays two more World Cup qualifiers in June next year, first against Mozambique and then Botswana.

Ahmed wasn’t the only NPL Victoria star in action either with former South Melbourne striker Ajak Riak and Dandenong Thunder goalkeeper Majak Mawith both starting for South Sudan.

Kingston City’s Sayed Fatemi started in Afghanistan’s 8-1 loss to Qatar in Asian qualifiers with Hume City’s Jawad Rezai on the bench.