Metsu blames missed chances for UAE defeat

Hanoi: The UAE's head coach Bruno Metsu talked about what went wrong in the 2-0 defeat against Vietnam on Sunday.

"There were on and off the field factors that led to our defeat," Metsu told reporters yesterday.

"We missed many scoring chances including easy dead ball situations and despite the fact that I instructed that only Esmail Mattar should be responsible for these balls I saw other players trying their luck and squandering easy chances.

"I am also not happy with the refereeing of the match. I don't want to say that the referee was the reason why we lost but we saw in the finals of the 2002 World Cup that both Spain and Italy lost the chance to go further in the competition because of unfair refereeing decisions. The referee should have sent a Vietnamese defender off when he caught Faisal Khalil and tore his short but he didn't," Metsu explained.

Training camp

"Off the field, the many thousands of Vietnamese fans led to creating pressure upon our young players who were playing for their first ever official matches with the senior national team.

"It was logical that I use them as starters because of their brilliant performances during the training camp. They are good players and have bright futures. I have confidence in them," Metsu confirmed.

Metsu praised his ace footballer Esmail Mattar. "Esmail was in his top form as usual in the big matches and he played an outstanding match but it was not our team's day and this happens in football. I believe that our young players have benefited from the match and have gained a lot of experience and we are looking forward to our remaining two matches against Japan and Qatar," Metsu concluded.

The UAE will face reigning champions Japan on Friday and Qatar on Monday in Ho Chi Minh.

We still have a chance: Al Serkal

Yousuf Al Serkal, the Chairman of the UAE FA and the vice president of AFC, defended the decision of Bruno Metsu to use new players who lacked international experience in their opener match in the Asian Cup which they lost to co-hosts Vietnam 2-0 on Sunday.

"Metsu is working to achieve two goals. Competing for a place in the quarterfinals of this tournament and building a team for the future which can compete for a place in the finals of the 2010 World Cup. I do believe that winning a team for the future is more important than winning a match or even a tournament," Al Serkal said. Regarding the surprising defeat, Al Serkal said, "It was a bad day. Our team did not show their usual and expected standards and the home team played better. We still have a chance. If the team wanted to win promotion to the quarterfinals, then they should prove that they are capable of achieving that and beat both Japan and Qatar or otherwise they do not deserve to reach the last eight of the tournament. No team can avoid facing stronger or higher ranked teams. To become one of the best you have to beat the best," Al Serkal added.