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| 2010 FIFA World Cup |
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| Metsu: We cracked under pressure |
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| UAE coach Bruno Metsu (right) felt the pressure got to his players as they lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. (AFP) |
ABU DHABI – United Arab Emirates coach Bruno Metsu said that his players lacked mental strength after allowing Saudi Arabia to come from a goal down to win 2-1 in a Group Two encounter on Wednesday.
Subait Khater gave the hosts the lead midway through the first half, scoring directly from a corner kick but Abdoh Autef equalised with a deflected shot in the 68th minute before substitute Ahmed Al Fraidi scored the winner with a fine solo effort five minutes later.
"We had a great first half but after the Saudis scored the equaliser they stopped playing," said Metsu, who saw his side lose by the same score to DPR Korea last weekend.
"It was a complete turnaround because they succumbed to the pressure.
"It was a similar case when we played North Korea. We had everything going our way in the first half and then threw everything away late in the game.
“I can change the players but I can't change their mindset."
The Frenchman admitted that his team's chances of qualifying will be anything but easy after suffering consecutive defeats in their first two home matches in Group Two.
"It is still not impossible to qualify but we need to come out with some real good performances if we want to be in the competition,” he said.
"One thing that can turn in our favour is that there won't be any pressure in the coming games and when you play without pressure you can do wonderful things. I hope that can help the team to claw back into contention.
"Sometimes it is easy to criticise after the game but we must remember we were playing against a good team.
“We had a good first half and had an opportunity to double the lead. And if we had scored again the result would have been different.
"We can only go back and work hard for the next game. A good result may get us back on the track. We still have six matches and we can only keep working for better results."
Saudi coach Nasser Al Johar did not attend the post match conference, having already avoided the local media before the game.
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