UAE set sights on victory against Saudi Arabia today

Dubai: Mahdi Ali, coach of the UAE's U-23 team has stressed the importance of his side getting off to a good start against Saudi Arabia in the UAE's first game of the U-23 Gulf Cup in Doha today.

"We look forward to achieving a positive outcome today against Saudi in what will be a very important but tough game," Ali said in a statement released to the media.

"Saudi Arabia had provided an excellent standard of football in their 1-1 draw with Kuwait [last Wednesday] but squandered many opportunities in front of goal."

Meanwhile a spokesperson for Saudi Arabia's delegation said: "The game will be tough on both teams. The UAE will want to start strong and we will try to qualify to the second round to grab the championship for the second time in a row."

Saudi won the inaugural U-23 Gulf Cup in Riyadh in 2008. The UAE didn't feature in this competition, meaning it had to be played in a league format instead of groups and knockouts.

It was organised in preparation for Olympic squads aiming to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, but is now just as relevant for teams preparing for Asian and Olympic game's qualification.

Teams are likely to bleed new players into their senior ranks ahead of November's senior Gulf Cup in Yemen.

Results