Abu Dhabi: Under-pressure UAE coach Mahdi Ali has drawn solace from the fact that even Cristiano Ronaldo has been criticised and insists he is not feeling the heat ahead of Tuesday’s vital World Cup qualifier with Iraq.
The 51-year-old has come in for intense flak after the UAE capitulated 3-0 away to arch-rivals Saudi Arabia last month, with reports circulating that his four-year tenure was about to end.
This left the Whites fourth in Group B of the third and final Asian qualification phase for the 2018 World Cup, with only the top two teams guaranteed to reach the Russia showpiece.
As such, victory against fifth-place Iraq at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi (kick-off 7:20pm) is essential for the UAE if they are to keep their dreams of reaching their second World Cup alive.
Ali insists he can cope with the pressure, though, particularly if someone of the exalted level of three-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo faces similar questioning.
"We didn’t suffer," he said of the Saudi rout. "This criticism was coming from the people who love our nation, who love the national team and I hope we’ll give them our best tomorrow."
"Pressure is part of my job. Before they asked Jose Mourinho about the drop in Cristiano Ronaldo’s level and he said there’s no discussion about the value of Ronaldo, that everybody knows he is a great player, the best player in the world. But sometimes he suffers from a drop.
"This also happens to a coach. My duty is to recover very quickly from this and giving a good performance and getting a good result tomorrow will be very positive for me and the team. We will get back on the right path."
Ali added that his side would retain “a big chance” of World Cup qualification if they beat the Iraqis – who are 43 places below the UAE at 113rd in the Fifa world rankings.
“This match is very, very important for us. We need to come back from a defeat to keep our chances and hopes alive for World Cup qualification.
“Winning always starts from a loss. Always when you lose it’s the beginning of a new win. And winning after that game will bring the team to the same spirit again.
"We are very motivated to change the picture that happened in the last game. All the players know the importance of this game as well as we know how important it is for us to keep our dream on the pitch in our hands.”
"We still have a big chance, but we have to have a positive result tomorrow to keep our chance in this race,” added the Emirati, who has managed the majority of this generation at various age-group levels since 2008.
“Everybody is motivated, not only the players, and we are very confident. We have gone through many, many obstacles in the past since 2008, and this is one of the things that we already have experience of. When it is getting tight the players will have their say in the game."
Ali’s only injury absentee is the Al Ain midfielder, Amer Abdul Rahman, and the coach was pleased to report that defender Esmail Ahmad and striker Ali Mabkhout have been passed fit to play.
“Everybody is in good shape and we are motivated to play,” added Ali, whose side warmed up for the game with a 2-0 friendly win over Bahrain in Al Ain last week.
"The game needs us to be focused, needs us to be calm, needs support from everywhere. This is what important for us.
“I hope tomorrow we will be ready and motivated and have the utmost desire for the three points."
Iraq are “a very good team”, Ali insisted, despite having lost three of their four group games to lie fifth – three points behind the UAE.
“Their losses have come from minor mistakes,” he said. “All the teams in the group have the same level, except Thailand.”