UAE face Thai test
dubai — Moments after the UAE had brushed aside Indonesia last Thursday night, The Whites were escorted out of the Al Maktoum Stadium by the Dubai Police. They weren’t heading for a warm down after playing 90 minutes, plus stoppage time, in that stifling humidity,
In fact, the squad were rushing to the Dubai International Airport to board their flight to Bangkok. After having rested their tired limbs, they were back to training the very next day.
With a short turnaround between their matches, it was back to business for the UAE and coach Bert van Marwijk was keen on making every minute count.
With just four days to go before they took on Thailand in the joint AFC Asian Cup and World Cup qualifier, not to mention the six-and-a-half-hour flight as well as the time difference, the UAE wasted little time in reaching well early and getting acclimatized to the conditions.
The Whites are perched right on top of Group G but perhaps face their first real test of the group against Thailand on Tuesday night.
The Thais are second following a draw against Vietnam and a victory against Indonesia. And Marwijk is well aware of what a fastdeveloping Thailand represent.
“It will be a difficult game,” Bert van Marwijk said in his prematch briefing on Monday.
“I have studied the Thailand team through their past performances, in order to deal with them well during the game. They are one of the best Asian teams during the last period. They have developed a lot and they showed that during the AFC Asian Cup in the UAE. We have to show increased focus, especially since they are playing at home.
The other worry for the Dutchman is the weather with a thunderstorm expected on the morrow. “I fear that if it rains before or during the game, it will have a huge impact on the pitch,” he felt.
Meanwhile, Ali Mabkhout, freshly crowned as the UAE’s alltime leading goal scorer, hopes he can continue his rich vein of form. The Al Jazira marksman has five goals in the qualifiers so far and has had a good record against Thailand. He had scored a brace in the UAE’s 3-1 victory in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Abu Dhabi in October 2016.
Mabkhout then went on to score the equaliser in the return leg in Bangkok in June 2017.
Mabkhout became the leading goal scorer after his hat trick against Indonesia. The 29-yearold moved to 54 goals from 76 appearances for the UAE. Mabkhout, who made his UAE debut at 19 years, one month and 10 days, under Srecko Katanec, went past Adnan Al Talyani. Al Talyani, who turned out for Al Shaab, had been the leading scorer with 52 goals from 161 appearances.