Zaccheroni draws on King’s Cup positives
Whites coach banks on experience over results as second line impress in Thailand
UAE coach Alberto Zaccheroni said the Whites benefited greatly from their King’s Cup participation in Bangkok over the weekend despite losing both games and finishing fourth.
The Whites lost 2-1 to Slovakia in Thursday’s semifinal and 1-0 to Gabon in the third-place play-off on Saturday but, playing without star players Omar Abdul Rahman and Ali Mabkhout, the competition was always going to be used as just a chance to field youth by the Italian.
“Certainly the primary goal of participation is the experience of the players,” said Zaccheroni. “By playing in more than one new way, they showed a good level.
“Rayan Yaslam and Mohammad Al Akbari were the most important gains, and although they didn’t show the same level against Gabon as they did against Slovakia, they still made big gains by all standards.”
Of Ahmad Khalil, who scored the UAE’s only goal and missed a flurry of chances in both, Zaccheroni added: “Although he missed a real opportunity to score and achieve the draw, he showed that the line of attack was capable of scoring, as they did in the first game.”
Slovakia went on to beat Thailand 3-2 in Saturday’s final, after the hosts had progressed from Thursday’s other semi-final with a 4-2 win on penalties over Gabon.
The former AC Milan coach, who led Japan to Asian Cup glory in 2011, said he was able to try more than one player in each position thanks to the tournament and said his preparation for the UAE’s hosting of next year’s Asian Cup in January was going well.
Asian Cup preparations
The end result, he said, was the formation of a strong team for the Asian Cup to make the home fans proud. He also encouraged new players to keep working hard to make the team, adding that the door was always open.
The UAE failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup under Mahdi Ali and Edgardo Bauza last year. Zaccheroni took over in October and led the side to the final of the Gulf Cup in Kuwait in January before defeat on penalties to Oman. The Italian, who won the Asian Cup with Japan in 2011, is now tasked with replicating that feat on home soil with the Whites.