Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Newcastle: The feat of returning to the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 19 years highlights a bright future for the United Arab Emirates according to coach Mahdi Ali ahead of Friday’s third place play-off with Iraq.
The UAE advanced to the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since reaching the 1996 final having finished second in Group C behind Iran before beating defending champions Japan in the quarter-finals only to fall short against hosts Australia on Tuesday.
Video highlights: Australia 2-0 UAE
Video highlights: Japan 1-1 UAE. aet (4-5 on penalties)
Video highlights: Iran 1-0 UAE
But with the revamped dual qualifying campaign for the 2019 edition of the AFC Asian Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia beginning for the UAE in June, the meeting with 2007 winners Iraq at Newcastle Stadium gives the chance for Ali’s 2013 Gulf Cup champions to earn potentially crucial ranking points.
“We played three games against the teams who qualified for the last World Cup in Japan, Iran and Australia. We played well in these three games and there was not a big gap between these teams and it gives us the confidence we have a chance to qualify for the next World Cup,” said Ali.
“We have to work hard and plan better than before as it will be hard with the new draw system where you have a group of eight.
“It is good chance for us to qualify for Russia as we have a good generation.”
Ali has freely admitted the UAE’s pre-tournament goal was to reach the semi-finals for only the third time in their history, although any hopes of a return to the final were quickly extinguished inside the first 15 minutes on Tuesday night at Newcastle Stadium as Australia scored twice.
But after earlier beating both Qatar and Bahrain during the group stage before narrowly losing 1-0 to Iran prior to their penalty shootout success over Japan, the UAE have lived up to their pre-tournament expectations as one of the outsiders for the title and will be keen on adding to their sole FIFA World Cup appearance in 1990.
Video highlights: Bahrain 1-2 UAE
Video highlights: UAE 4-1 Qatar
“We came to this competition with the main goal of reaching the semi-final and we have achieved that. It would have been great to play in the final, but we tried our best and worked very hard to achieve that. It is not the end of the world and we have to work harder in the future,” explained Ali.
“Third place is very important for the team. We are only thinking about the game and winning. It is important for us to go back home happy.
“We have worked hard over the last two days to bring back the fighting spirit for the players as after losing in the semi-final all the players were disappointed. Over the last two days we have spoken to the players that we have other goals than always winning,” added Ali.
“We have forgotten about the last match and we are focusing on the next game and securing third place which will send us home happy like we started.”
UAE striker Ali Mabkhout currently sits at the top of the goalscoring charts alongside Hamza Al Dardour, who plays for already-eliminated Jordan, with the pair having netted four times during the campaign, and coach Ali confirmed the Al Jazira frontman is set to feature at Newcastle Stadium as the 24-year-old seeks to claim the individual award.
Photo: WSG