Abu Dhabi: The UAE senior football team will play Kuwait Tuesday night in Abu Dhabi as both teams gear up for the Gulf Cup in Yemen and the Asian Cup in Qatar.
Yemen will host the regional football tournament from November 22 to December 5 and Qatar will organise the continental competition from January 7 to 22.
Sretchko Katanec, the head coach of the UAE, invited 21 players to join the training camp which started on Saturday at the external grounds of Zayed Sports City before holding their last training session last night at Al Nahyan Stadium — the venue for the match.
Katanec emphasised that he does not give any importance to the result of the match and that he is concerned mainly with the players' physical condition because this is only the first step in preparation for the two competitions.
The Slovenian coach expressed worries about the humid weather in which UAE clubs have played the first two weeks of the Pro-League and said: "The weather is not helping the players to show their best. They have a problem with breathing and they need more energy to perform bearing in mind that they play after a long day fasting."
Katanec confirmed that he is closely watching some young players who have showed promise with their teams.
"There are some young gifted players who I will add to the team in the near future," he said.
Katanec also expressed sorrow over the absence of Yousuf Abdul Rahman, the young custodian, who is in hospital following a car accident.
"I wish him quick recovery to join us again."
Rahman was replaced by Adel Al Housani, his understudy in the Olympic Team, while Sultan Al Gafri, the injured midfielder, was replaced by Sultan Bargash Al Minhali
Meanwhile, Yousuf Yaqoob Al Yatama, head of the Kuwaiti delegation, said his team would not be using this friendly as an opportunity to avenge last month's U-23 Gulf Cup final loss.
"We've forgotten about that now, we're looking towards the future instead. We're very happy to be playing the UAE, they have a very strong team and we will look to give something back in the friendly against them and they'll no doubt look to do the same."
Al Yatama admitted this match was an important early test for the upcoming tournaments in Qatar and Yemen for the Asian Cup and Gulf Cup, but possibly too early an indication as to how the respective tournaments would pan out for his team.
"We have a very young and strong team. But against UAE we're not necessarily looking for a result, just a good solid performance," said Al Yatama, who bemoaned the fact his team had only had a few days together prior to this match due to Kuwaiti league commitments.
