Dubai
The UAE’s coach was left satisfied with his team’s preparations going into the Sixth Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup to be held at the Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) from November 1-5.
Played at the UAE Football Association’s beach soccer facility in Al Khawaneej, the UAE fought back from a one-goal deficit to defeat Hungary 3-2 in the tie-break and earn an overall 5-4 win. This was the UAE’s second victory in three days after they had scalped former three-time world champions Russia also in an 8-7 tie-breaker shoot-out on Thursday.
“This was definitely not what I expected my team to come up with. But in the end we ended our preparations on a winning note, and that gives me a lot of positives and the team a lot of confidence before the start of the actual tournament,” the UAE’s Brazilian coach Gustavo Henrique Zloccowick (Guga) told Gulf News after the hosts’ win late on Saturday.
Down by a goal in the first of three periods, Guga was livid with his team for not executing the gameplan against the European opponents who are still in their build-up process. “Mentally, I found my players lacking, and this is unacceptable at this level. This is the national team and we need to learn how to play at a very high level all the time. To me it doesn’t matter whether it is a tournament or a friendly match. We need to be prepared to give off our best all the time,” Guga insisted.
However, the Brazilian coach was pleased he got an opportunity to test out his bench strength. In fact, Guga’s starting line-up was from the reserves. This resulted in Hungary going clear early in the first period. But the dependable Waleed Beshir pulled the teams back on level terms in the second period, only to see the visitors lead once again in the final period.
However, the hosts threw everything they had and captain Ali Karim equalised with 1.13 minutes remaining to throw down a lifeline for the UAE. The three minutes of extra time failed to break the deadlock and when Peter Abel shot wide, Kamal Hassan banged home to hand the UAE their second friendly victory.
“This was a match that I wanted to try out the reserve bench, and I think they all did a fantastic job despite being down by a goal all the time. I expected such a response from the players and I think we did a fine job in getting a second straight win,” he added.
Now, with the preparations out of the way, Guga will be doing some light workouts with the players on Sunday and Monday before their opening match against former world champions Brazil at the DIMC facility.
The five-day tournament will open on November 1 with Tahiti playing Poland in the first match at 4.15pm, followed by the UAE’s game at 5.30pm. The third match will be between the USA and Iran at 6.45pm followed by the fourth game between defending champions Russia and Egypt at 8pm.
