Sport | Football
Metsu drafts in five new faces for crunch Syria clash
The UAE national football team will assemble next Sunday in Dubai to start preparation for the World Cup qualifier match against Syria on March 26 in Damascus.
- By Sayed Ali, Senior Reporter
- Published: 23:41 March 11, 2008
- Image Credit: Abdul Rahman/Gulf News
- Bruno Metsu selected five new players after they showed excellent form in the domestic league.
Dubai: The UAE national football team will assemble next Sunday in Dubai to start preparation for the World Cup qualifier match against Syria on March 26 in Damascus.
The team will leave for Muscat on the March 17 to play a warm-up game against Oman on March 19. Bruno Metsu, the UAE coach, selected 24 players for the World Cup qualifier.
Four players from Al Wahda and two from Al Wasl will not accompany the team to Muscat due to their engagement with their clubs in the Asian Champions League. They will join on the March 21 before leaving with the team to Syria on March 24.
Excellent form
Metsu selected five new players after they showed excellent form in the domestic league. They are: Mohammad Ebrahim (Al Nasr), Obaid Al Taweela, Ahmad Khalil and Esmail Hammady (Al Ahli) and Faris Juma (Al Ain).
The problem of the team's accommodation in Damascus was solved and they will stay in the Sheraton hotel.
The squad: Majid Naser, Esmail Rabea, Obaid Al Taweela, Rashid Abdul Rahman, Bashir Saeed, Mohammad Qasim, Abdullah Mal Allah, Haydar Allo Ali, Faiz Juma, Faris Juma, Hilal Saeed, Obaid Khalifa, Tariq Hasan, Saleh Obaid, Darwish Ahmad, Sibait Khatir, Mohammad Ebrahim, Saif Mohammad, Ahmad Dada, Esmail Mattar, Mohammad Elshehi, Faisal Khalil, Ahmad Khalil, Esmail Hammady.
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