Doesn’t it seem as if only about two regions in the world produce guys who can score? South America and Africa. The stray European, sure … but if you want a guy to put a ball in a goal, you want a Brazilian or an Argentine or an African, generally.

I did a piece today for The National’s Thursday newspaper about how the United Arab Emirates national team is hurting for scorers. It is going to the Asian Cup, which starts on Friday, and likely will play two of the following three guys at forward: Ismail Matar, who has one goal in 10 Pro League matches this year; Ahmed Khalil, who is 19 and doesn’t usually start for his Pro League side; and Saaed al Kas, who plays for middle-of-the-pack team Al Wasl.

And that’s it.

Why is this country in even bigger trouble than most for attacking players?

Because every pro team in the top division counts on foreigners to score goals.

Emiratis, the citizens of the UAE, that is, can play defense, and a few of them are capable in midfield. But at the attacking end?

As I note in the column, the local league ought to be where the UAE develops its strikers, but the realities of club competition mean that each coach feels as if he has to win now, today, or face losing his job. And UAE club team soccer officials are very very quick on the firing trigger.

Thus, Emiratis don’t play here because coaches can’t wait to develop them … but they also don’t play anywhere else, because it is extremely rare for local players to leave the country. Officials want them to stay home, and they are very well-paid.

So they stick around, and molder, and the country is dying for strikers.

If the UAE had a couple of guys as good as Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey … they would have a chance to win the Asian Cup. But they don’t, and they almost certainly won’t.

I watched them struggle to a scoreless draw with Australia tonight in Al Ain, about 100 miles east, near the border with Oman. Granted, the home team had a couple of decent chances, and the Aussies (who rested several of their key guys) did not. But they didn’t score. And they often don’t.

At the Gulf Cup last month, the UAE failed to score in three of their four matches but still made the semifinals because they gave up only one goal in group play, and just one to the Saudis in the semis — and lost, 1-0.

It’s not unheard of for a country to field a “pro” team made up of its under-23 players. I think that would be a good idea here, where at least guys would get minutes in front of the goal, instead of watching some Brazilian or African take all the shots.