Abdulrahman and Co. have one shot left to live up to the hype

More certain is that the Whites have lost some of their shine and the 2019 Asian Cup on home soil is surely their last chance to ensure that their highlights reel matches the hype.

The defeat in the recent Gulf Cup final brought more disappointment, even if it does not rank alongside the big one, failing to qualify for this year’s World Cup.

It is not the fault of talented players such as Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman and Ahmed Khalil that they were handed the label that has hung heavily around their necks. It is the media that placed, perhaps, premature praise and pressure on the players, expecting them to do something special.

In England there is some embarrassment at the memory of their own “golden generation” which consisted of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Ashley Cole, Wayne Rooney, John Terry and the rest — all world-famous stars. There were a series of quarter-final appearances. Not bad — and better than what has come after — but not the trophy-laden heights that had been hoped for.

The term was perhaps more accurate in the UAE’s case as a group of players came up through the ranks of various youth teams together. Then they were winning the 2008 AFC-U19 Championship and reaching the last eight of the FIFA U-20 World Cup a year later. They then qualified for the 2012 Olympics and performed well in a tough group with Great Britain, Uruguay and Senegal, taking just one point but plenty of plaudits.

Especially pleasing was that longserving coach Mahdi Ali was promoted to the senior team to join his former youth charges in 2012. Progress was made. In January 2015, there was a third-place finish at the Asian Cup which included a memorable victory over defending champions Japan at the quarter-final stage.

Now the team had arrived. The players were in their mid-twenties and swapping potential for end product. The team, and especially Abdulrahman, thrilled fans in Australia. The coach was also feted around the continent, his trademark red cap a familiar and welcome sight. So close was he to his stars that in press conferences they were finishing each other’s sentences.

The next step was clear. It had to be an appearance at the 2018 World Cup, nothing else would do. The Whites had to match the achievements of the class of 1990. The talent was there.

Getting through the preliminary stage was a breeze, unlike four years earlier, but the final round, as you would expect, handed the team a tough group. Japan and Australia were seen as the favorites and Saudi Arabia under coach Bert Van Marwijk meant that there was a challenge.

The opening game was as tough as it gets: A trip to Saitama in Japan. Keisuke Honda gave the four-time Asian champions an early lead but a brace from Khalil gave UAE a win that was seen as a breakthrough.

If it had been followed by a win at home to Australia five days later then who knows what would have happened? As it was, Tim Cahill scored the only goal late in the game. Fans in the UAE were brought down to earth but the real disappointment was a 3-0 loss in Saudi Arabia in game four. Backto-back defeats against Japan and Australia then sealed the UAE’s fate and that of the coach.

Now under Alberto Zaccheroni, a final defeat in the 2017 Gulf Cup sounds decent, but only scoring one goal (and that from the spot) in 510 minutes of football was not exactly anything to write back to Abu Dhabi about.

UAE FA president Marwan Bin Ghalita put the blame on the players, saying that some experienced stars “did not give everything they had during the tournament.”

They need to produce next January at the Asian Cup. Playing on home soil is the last golden opportunity for the golden generation. They have 12 months to finally live up to that hype — the hard work starts now.

DUBAI: It is hard to say for sure precisely when the term “golden generation” was first used to describe the talented group of United Arab Emirates players that emerged late in the previous decade.