UAE out to surprise beach soccer big guns
Hosts shrug off Russia defeat in warm-up tie to showcase skills with win against Paraguay
Hosts UAE are preparing to cause a few upsets along the way as they line up for their seventh appearance at the Huawei Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup that kicks off at its brand-new home in Marasi Business Bay, from tomorrow.
The UAE team, with Mohammad Al Mazmi at the helm, start their campaign against former world champions Portugal tomorrow, followed by matches against Egypt and defending world and Dubai champions Brazil. The best the UAE have fared in the event are a couple of third-place finishes in 2012 and 2013, while last year they managed to avoid the cellar at the cost of the US in the eight-team competition.
The hosts continued their preparations for this week’s competition with a couple of friendly matches — they lost 6-2 to former three-time Dubai champions Russia on Friday evening, but did well to bounce back with a 5-4 win against South American side Paraguay — now coached by their former coach Gustavo ‘Guga’ Zloccowick. Al Mazmi felt that a positive result like the one against Paraguay was needed heading into an important competition like the Intercontinental Cup. “The confidence can work wonders,” Al Mazmi said.
“We played well even against Russia [on Friday], but we made too many mistakes and the Russians punished us just like any other quality team would. The good thing today [Saturday] was that we didn’t make so many mistakes. This means we have learnt from the past and are keen to move forward in the right direction.”
Confident team
The UAE’s first opponents will be Portugal, whose best result has been a third-place finish. “But they are a good allround team, who can punish you at the smallest instance. It is a big team, but we are here to show what we are capable of. We are definitely not a normal side. This is a team that can rise on the big stage,” Al Mazmi said.
Missing from the UAE lineup is live-wire Adel Al Rahi, due to an old knee injury. “Yes, for sure we will miss Adel, but we have a good depth in this team that banks on each other for success. We are all united in our approach and we want to do a great job in this tournament as it is being held right here in Dubai.”