Dubai: Abdul Aziz Sanqour’s last-gasp rebound finish salvaged a 1-1 draw for the UAE in their friendly against Lithuania in Austria on Wednesday.
The friendly was part of The Whites’ preparation for the Gulf Cup in Saudi Arabia from November 13 to 26 and the Asian Cup in Australia from January 9 to 31.
Sanqour’s follow-up from a scrambled Ahmad Khalil free-kick cancelled out Deivydas Matulevicius’ header before the interval.
The draw against Lithuania, who are ranked 38 places below the UAE, follows on from last week’s goalless draw away to Norway.
Next up for the UAE is tough test with Paraguay on September 7, Australia on October 10 and Uzbekistan on October 14.
In 25 games in charge, Mahdi Ali has now won an impressive 19, drawn four and lost two. He went 20 games unbeaten from September 2012 to May 2014, winning the 2013 Gulf Cup and helping the team qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup.
Ali, the UAE’s first full-time Emirati coach, was recently rewarded with a four-year contract extension, taking him up until the 2018 Fifa World Cup and 2019 Asian Cup qualification.
The UAE have been drawn in Group B for the Gulf Cup alongside Oman, Kuwait and Iraq, while in the Asian Cup they will play Qatar, Bahrain and Iran.
