Dubai: The UAE's Under-23 football team will be hoping for a favour from former Brazil striker Ronaldo when the draw for the London Olympics tournament is held today.
Sport | Football
UAE hoping for a favour from Ronaldo's hand
Brazilian to pick teams for Olympics draw
- By Martin Downer, Deputy Sports Editor
- Published: 00:02 April 24, 2012
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archives
- Mahdi Ali
The legendary goalscorer heads the line-up of assistants who will decide the UAE's fate at this afternoon's much-anticipated event at Wembley Stadium.
The Whites will be taking part in their first-ever Olympics football competition following their dramatic qualification campaign, which saw them secure their place in the London spectacular thanks to a nail-biting 3-2 victory over Uzbekistan in Tashkent last month.
One of 16
Mahdi Ali's team will be one of 16 nations who will be drawn into four groups from 2pm today.
The top two teams from each pool will go through to the knockout stages of the tournament, which runs from July 26 to August 11.
The UAE could be drawn alongside the likes of Brazil, Spain and hosts Britain. The final team to reach the competition was to be decided last night, when Oman and Senegal were due to meet in a final play-off at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
Matches will take place at Wembley, Old Trafford in Manchester, Hampden Park in Glasgow, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, St James' Park in Newcastle and in Coventry.
Teams
Great Britain, South Korea, Japan, UAE, Gabon, Morocco, Egypt, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Uruguay, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Belarus, Oman or Senegal.
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