Abu Dhabi: The UAE may only have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia but Tuesday’s win against Saudi Arabia speaks volumes of the way the team has responded under new coach Edgardo Bauza.
The former Argentinian coach didn’t have star mid-fielder Omar Abdul Rahman ‘Amoory’ at his disposal but made use of his resources well and clearly took his counterparts by surprise.
The team played with so much belief that ‘Amoory’ was not missed at all. Veteran star Esmail Mattar may have lost out on agility with time but he is still a class act and aptly fitted into the supply job. Both forwards Ali Mabkhout and Ahmad Khalil were effective on the counters and the goals they scored would have even made the Messis and the Ronaldos to sit back and take notice.
The defence remained rock solid despite the absence of Esmail Ahmad. The Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammad Fawzi and Mohammad Ahmad Garib doing some stock defending to keep the visitors at bay. As always the ever reliable Khalid Eisa guarded his citadel with aplomb.
Understandably Bauza was all praise for his players saying, “I want to say is the attitude the players had, if they hadn’t had this attitude they wouldn’t have won — it was difficult.”
The 59-year-old, who is on a two-year contract, went on to add that his team was much more superior, tactically.
“The team defended very well and we shut down all the routes to goal for them apart from down the wings where it got tricky at times. Practically, they had no clear shot on goal. In attack we had two dangerous attackers in Khalil and Mabkhout and both showed they can score high quality goals. From the little time we had to work together we did a really good job. With the passage of time and working together, we can improve even further,” revealed Bauza, who went on to add that their away contest against Iraq next would be tough but the focus will be to win that outing and then keep fingers crossed.
“It’s been 10 years since the team had beaten Saudi Arabia so I’m pleased with that. Now we have six days to prepare the next game against Iraq. Our chances of qualifying are difficult but we will try to give our best and let’s see if we can win. We can then see where we are in the table and if we have any chance of qualifying,” said Bauza adding that more than the preparations for the Iraq clash, he will be looking to simply making this players understand they are representing the Emirates’ football which is a very big responsibility.
“Just as I and the coaching staff have taken on this challenge — and so have the players. We are representing the whole Emirati football and so have to give everything. And anyone who doesn’t give everything will not play and they know this. Then football is about planning to win and we will do that,” asserted Bauza, who will be a bit worried after seeing Mabkhout limp off the field with an injury and will be hoping that Amoory is fit for the next outing on September 5.
“Omar was injured and he had no chance of playing today. He is in the hands of the doctor, who is monitoring him closely. Omar as you know travelled to Spain for treatment and we are waiting for him to come back to see how he is getting on. Mabkhout has problems and we will also miss Khamis Esmail because of suspension,” said Bauza, who will also be keeping a close watch on the outcome of the Japan and Australia match. A win for Japan would be an ideal result for the UAE to bolster their outside chance of qualifying before the Iraq match.
Mabkhout revealed that there was ‘no secret’ behind the team’s superlative performance other than the will to do well at home. “This is football and there is a lesson to learn everyday and today everything went as expected. We hung in there as a team and wanted to make use of the last chance we had. Gave everything and now we want to do the same against Iraq,” said a delighted Mabkhout.
For the Saudi team and their Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk, this loss could prove as a deadly blow to their aspirations of making to the mega event for the first time since 2006.
“I think to qualify will be really difficult now. I always said we had a chance and we still have a chance but a very little chance now. We are dependent on the Japan and Australia match. We must win the next match, that is the only little chance we have,” said Van Marwijk adding that they are not looking for any excuses and pondering over wrong decisions won’t be of any help.
“You saw in the first half, we were much stronger and we played our possession game. You saw the Emiratis getting tired. I was disappointed in the second half because I thought we could do it even better but I think the moment they scored the goal then they got the extra power and that helped them very much.”
