UAE go for one final push today
dubai — This was not how it was supposed to play out, but it is what it is and the UAE have no other option but to get on with it. The Whites go for one final push, with a prayer on their lips and hope that it isn’t their final fixture in World Cup qualifying.
Their own destiny is out of their hands but Edgardo Bauza’s men hope that they can play their part right and control what they can, when they take on Iraq in their last Group B match of the Asia Zone World Cup Qualifiers against Iraq on Tuesday evening.
Even a victory against the Iraqis at the neutral venue of Amman International Stadium in Jordan, won’t suffice but it will keep the UAE in the scheme of things, with their fate to be known after what transpires Down Under in Melbourne and closer home in Jeddah.
Though a long shot, the UAE will be hoping that Thailand can do them a favour by stunning Australia and already qualified Japan can inflict a defeat on Saudi Arabia. That would, at the least, keep the window ajar for a play-off spot, although goal difference will have the final say.
If that isn’t enough, the odds are stacked even more against the UAE with them set to miss some of their shining lights. Coach Bauza has had to grapple with injuries and suspensions and this will be the second game running where the former Argentina manager will have a selection headache.
Talisman Omar Abdulrahman is still in the Spanish city of Barcelona, nursing his injured ankle, while centre-back Ismail Ahmed too is out injured. Bauza will also miss his frontman Ali Ahmed Mabkhout, with the Al Jazira marksman suspended. Adding to that list is leftback Mahmoud Khamis, who was handed a red card during the game against Saudi Arabia, as well as midfielder Khamis Ismail.
Reinforcements have been added in the form of Khaled Abdulrahman, Ahmed Al Attas and Mohammed Abdulbasit.
Be that as it may, coach Bauza put up a brave face ahead of the fixture in the Jordanian capital.
“We know very well the importance of the game and the need to win it, despite the number of absentees in the team. However, I have great confidence in all the players to achieve the desired result,” Bauza said at his pre-match press conference on Monday.
“I wanted to use the same squad which played against Saudi Arabia. However, we have 24 players, all of whom are qualified to play and represent the national team. So, I hope the team will be successful in winning,” added the 59-year-old.
And as far as qualification was concerned, Bauza said that the squad had put that out of their mind and were solely focussing on the match ahead. “The calculations are difficult because it depends on the results of others. However, we have to forget those calculations and just go in there and play the game and win it,” Bauza said.
The UAE have met Iraq six times in Asia Zone World Cup qualifiers since 1985, with them acing it 5-1, and their recent meeting producing a 2-0 win for the Whites in Abu Dhabi, last November. But the statistics and numbers will be of little consequence, if the UAE cannot get it done, on the morrow. The country waits with hope. james@khaleejtimes.com