Riyadh: Yousuf Al Sarkal, President of the UAE Football Association (UAEFA), said The Whites will not be overawed by Kuwait ahead of their second Gulf Cup group game on Monday.
Record 10-time champions Kuwait beat Iraq 1-0 while defending champions UAE drew 0-0 with Oman in Group B’s opening games on Friday. This renders the UAE’s next match against Kuwait pivotal but Al Sarkal said he wasn’t intimidated.
“We respect Kuwait but we won’t continue respecting teams for their history,” he said. “We shall perform on the field and start winning.”
Asked if Kuwait’s win over Iraq gave ‘The Blues’ more momentum coming into the UAE game, he replied: “Going to play against a Kuwaiti team with over confidence is not in our favour.
“To play a Kuwaiti team that won their last match creates a challenge to our players, and in circumstances like that, where there is a challenge, they perform better.”
Of the UAE’s disappointing goalless draw with Oman, he said: “As an opening match it wasn’t too bad. Having one point is much better than having none.
“Oman is not an easy team, it’s a team with a lot of history, having made three finals and won one [2009], so it was not a surprise for me that we drew against Oman. They are a very respectable team and a draw is not that bad for us, but now we look forward to the coming match.
“I haven’t lost confidence in our team or our players. We have a good team and we are in good shape. Not winning the last match doesn’t mean we lose confidence in them.
“Even if we don’t even make it to the final, it doesn’t mean we lose confidence, this is football. Same as we are happy if we win, we also accept if we lose, that’s a fact of football, in sports you either win lose or draw, it’s natural.”
