Gulf League is off but UAE still a threat, says Cheng Hoe

The cancellation of the Arabian Gulf League will not affect United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) preparation for the 2022 World Cup-2023 Asian Cup qualifying campaign, says national chief coach Tan Cheng Hoe.

The UAE Pro League and the UAE Football Association (UAEFA) have announced the scrapping of the Gulf League, which was earlier suspended on March 15. The announcement said it has became untenable to complete the 2019-2020 season due to several reasons, including players’ contract and weather conditions.

However, Cheng Hoe believes UAE, who are also without a head coach, will have plans drawn up for their national team who will face Malaysia in the qualifiers at their home on Oct 8.

“We have heard about their league’s cancellation. We know they will name a new head coach soon,” said Cheng Hoe.

“Most likely they will have a long centralised training camp... this would mean their new coach will have time to observe and work on improving his players.”

“UAE have among the best players in the region, including three naturalised new faces. I don’t think they will be weakened. In fact, they may be stronger now.”

“They are not under pressure, they have a game in hand and also three home matches. They can turn their campaign around soon.”

UAE are lying fourth in the five-team Group G with six points from five matches while Malaysia are second with nine after six matches.

Cheng Hoe’s men kicked off campaign by beating Indonesia 3-2 in Jakarta (Sept 5) but suffered two straight defeats – 1-2 to the UAE in Bukit Jalil (Sept 10) and a 0-1 defeat to Vietnam in Hanoi (Oct 10). They bounced back in style to beat Thailand 2-1 on Nov 14 and Indonesia 2-0 on Nov 19 in Bukit Jalil.

Vietnam top the group with 11 points while Thailand are third with eight. Indonesia are at the bottom without a point.

Said Cheng Hoe: “The M-League teams are allowed to conduct non-contact training. It’s better for the players to train with their clubs to get their fitness back first. Then, we can have centralised training.”