Sydney: The UAE coach Mahdi Ali says his squad are eager to achieve their long-held ambition of making the semi-finals of the Asian Cup ahead of Friday’s last-eight clash with Japan.
The UAE takes on the Blue Samurai in Sydney five days after a last-minute goal from Iran condemned them to a 1-0 loss — their first of the tournament — and resulting in a second-place finish in Group C.
It is now more than two years since Ali took control of the Whites’ senior team and the goal of reaching the penultimate stage of Asia’s biggest competition was stated.
And, having guided much of the squad through the age groups since becoming the nation’s under-19 boss in 2009, including a campaign at the 2012 London Olympics, it would be a fitting realisation for the Emirati coach if the UAE were to reach the semi-finals in Australia.
“When I took the team two years ago our aim was to reach the semi-finals,” he said. “We are very close and we will fight very hard to reach our goal.
“For me, any game is important, even a friendly game. I don’t like to lose. This game is an especially important one because it will take us to the semi-final.
“We have a very good generation, we have spent nine years preparing this team and we are optimistic to go further in this competition.”
The UAE will be without left-back Walid Abbas, who picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against Iran, but otherwise have a fully fit squad to choose from.
That includes talismanic midfielder Omar Abdul Rahman, who has been grabbing headlines in the Australian press throughout the competition for his standout performances, leading to further speculation that he could be prised away from current club Al Ain.
“We’re not thinking about Manchester City or any player playing abroad at this moment,” said Ali.
“For us of course it would be very good to see our player playing in Europe. He has a good future and he’s a talented player. We hope we see him in Europe very soon.”
Japan have also reported a fully fit squad as they look to name an unchanged side, which includes the likes of star players Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Yuto Nagatomo, for the fourth successive time in the tournament.
With three wins already under their belt, and having not conceded a goal, they are sure to present formidable opposition.
Even so, after Japan beat Jordan 2-0 on Tuesday to win Group D, Honda blasted the organisers of the Asian Cup for the lack of time between matches.
“Two days is too short a recovery time,” he said. “I don’t agree with such a tough schedule. It’s too much and it’s a concern.”
And the AC Milan midfielder is more than aware of the UAE’s threat.
“UAE are playing very well,” he added. “I don’t think they will fear Japan at all. Hopefully we can continue creating as many chances as we have been creating.”
— The writer is a freelance journalist based in Australia
