Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
London: UAE Olympics football coach Mahdi Ali admitted that the draw is ‘a tough one’ for his side but he is convinced that the opportunity would be immense for his charges during their historical Olympics participation.
In the Olympics draw for London 2012 held in London on Tuesday, UAE are pitted alongside hosts Great Britain, Uruguay and Senegal, who defeated Oman last week in the AFC-CAF playoffs.
"We felt proud entering the hall where the draw was made, seeing the UAE's flag between the 15 other nations from all over the world," Ali was quoted as saying in Gulf News.
"This is a chance for us to show the media that we may only be a small nation but we have big ambitions. All the media in the world will finally get the opportunity to see what our team can do," he added.
The UAE will open their campaign against South American powerhouse Uruguay at Old Trafford on July 26 followed by the mouthwatering Wembley clash against hosts Great Britain. Their last match will be played at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena against Senegal who eliminated Oman from the competition at the same venue.
Despite conceding the draw is as tough one, Mahdi is relishing on the prospects of leading his national team at the famous pitch of Wembley. "Facing Team GB (Great Britain) at Wembley is a great opportunity for us. Everyone dreams of playing in a great stadium like this, which has so much history,” he said.
UAE had defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 in Tashkent in one of the great comebacks last month to qualify from Asia alongside Japan and Korea Republic.