Abu Dhabi: It was far from convincing and it will not have done their coach Mahdi Ali’s heart rate any good, but the UAE secured a precious 2-0 victory over Iraq in the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday evening.
On a nerve-shredding night at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, victory was sealed by Ahmad Khalil’s wonderful volley and substitute Esmail Mattar’s injury time finish.
But aside from that moment of magic, the UAE were jittery, wasteful in possession and lacked their customary fluency in attack.
Their defence — which was badly exposed in their last Group B game, a 3-0 humbling in Saudi Arabia — looked hesitant and ponderous throughout.
Iraq, belying the fact that they are ranked 43rd places below the UAE at 113 in the Fifa rankings and had lost three of their four Group B games to date, played with vibrancy and passion, meanwhile.
Their belligerent tactics also made for a feisty encounter, with several sturdy tackles provoking howls of protest from the home fans.
And if the Lions of Mesopotamia had possessed greater potency up front, they could have seriously damaged the UAE’s hopes of qualifying for their second World Cup.
They sliced open the Whites at will and were thwarted by a fantastic save from the UAE goalkeeper Ali Khaseif and Mohannad Sakem’s lionhearted lunge to deny Mohannad Abdul Raheem in the second half.
The UAE clung on, however, to secure their third victory from five Group B games in the third and final Asian qualification round for Russia 2018.
To say the opening stages of the match were turgid would be an understatement.
Passes aplenty went astray and challenges were mistimed as the hosts, in particular, seemed weighed down by the pressure of the occasion.
There was also possibly — and understandably — a lingering hangover from the Saudi setback last month.
The UAE also sorely missed the speed and trickery of the Al Ahli winger, Esmail Al Hammadi, who was inexplicably only a substitute and who was replaced in Ali’s starting line-up by Mohammad Abdul Rahman.
Even the team’s best player, Omar Abdul Rahman, who wore luminous yellow boots to match his shimmering talent, was occasionally careless in possession.
But the mercurial Al Ain playmaker also unsurprisingly provided the rare moments of refinement amid the mediocrity to impress the watching Diego Maradona, a VIP guest.
And then, in the 26th minute, came a moment of true brilliance from Khalil to awaken the white masses from their slumber with the opening goal.
And what a strike it was.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Khalil thundered a scorching volley off the bar and into the net after Abdul Aziz Sanquor’s cross was deflected into his path by Dhurgham Esmail.
It was Khalil’s 15th goal in the World Cup qualifying campaign and he will struggle to better it.
The UAE continued to look edgy whenever Iraq countered, however, despite their advantage.
Mohannad Abdul Raheem was afforded too much time and space to jink his way into the box, for instance.
Better teams — such as the Saudis — capitalise on such defensive uncertainty, although in mitigation the veteran centre-back Esmail Ahmad has just returned from injury.
Iraq — roared on by several hundred, drum-beating fans pounding out funky rhythms — were undeterred by their deficit and continued to probe for weaknesses in the Whites’ suspect defence.
On the hour mark, one of the loudest cheers of the night from the home fans greeted the introduction of Al Hammadi for the ineffectual Mohammad Abdul Rahman as Ali sought another goal to afford his side breathing space.
And that nearly arrived when Mabkhout raced on to Omar’s hopeful punt upfield, but was thwarted by a flying challenge by the Iraq goalkeeper Mohammad Hammeed, who had raced out of his penalty area.
Enter the veteran Al Wahda striker, Esmail Mattar, to another thunderous reception from the UAE fans among the 14,583 crowd, in place of Khalil with 15 minutes remaining.
But it was Iraq who were now the more potent force and they almost equalised when Aymen Hussain’s flying header forced Khaseif to make a magnificent, reflex save.
Shortly afterwards, the Al Jazira goalkeeper was forced to save another header, this time from defender Ahmad Ebrahim, as the visitors pressed relentlessly for the equaliser.
Salem slid in to deny Iraq another strike on goal and then Mattar calmed the UAE’s fraying nerves after coolly stroking in Mabkhout’s cutback.
The UAE players and fans sang the national anthem in unison at the end as relief and joy reigned in equal measure.
Abu Dhabi: Under-pressure UAE coach Mahdi Ali has drawn solace from the fact that even Cristiano Ronaldo has been criticised and insists he is not feeling the heat ahead of Tuesday’s vital World Cup qualifier with Iraq.
The 51-year-old has come in for intense flak after the UAE capitulated 3-0 away to arch-rivals Saudi Arabia last month, with reports circulating that his four-year tenure was about to end.
This left the Whites fourth in Group B of the third and final Asian qualification phase for the 2018 World Cup, with only the top two teams guaranteed to reach the Russia showpiece.
As such, victory against fifth-place Iraq at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi (kick-off 7:20pm) is essential for the UAE if they are to keep their dreams of reaching their second World Cup alive.
Ali insists he can cope with the pressure, though, particularly if someone of the exalted level of three-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo faces similar questioning.
“We didn’t suffer,” he said of the Saudi rout. “This criticism was coming from the people who love our nation, who love the national team and I hope we’ll give them our best tomorrow.”
“Pressure is part of my job. Before they asked Jose Mourinho about the drop in Cristiano Ronaldo’s level and he said there’s no discussion about the value of Ronaldo, that everybody knows he is a great player, the best player in the world. But sometimes he suffers from a drop.
“This also happens to a coach. My duty is to recover very quickly from this and giving a good performance and getting a good result tomorrow will be very positive for me and the team. We will get back on the right path.”
Ali added that his side would retain “a big chance” of World Cup qualification if they beat the Iraqis — who are 43 places below the UAE at 113th in the Fifa world rankings.
“This match is very, very important for us. We need to come back from a defeat to keep our chances and hopes alive for World Cup qualification.
“Winning always starts from a loss. Always when you lose it’s the beginning of a new win. And winning after that game will bring the team to the same spirit again.
“We are very motivated to change the picture that happened in the last game. All the players know the importance of this game as well as we know how important it is for us to keep our dream on the pitch in our hands.”
“We still have a big chance, but we have to have a positive result tomorrow to keep our chance in this race,” added the Emirati, who has managed the majority of this generation at various age-group levels since 2008.
“Everybody is motivated, not only the players, and we are very confident. We have gone through many, many obstacles in the past since 2008, and this is one of the things that we already have experience of. When it is getting tight the players will have their say in the game.”
Ali’s only injury absentee is the Al Ain midfielder, Amer Abdul Rahman, and the coach was pleased to report that defender Esmail Ahmad and striker Ali Mabkhout have been passed fit to play.
“Everybody is in good shape and we are motivated to play,” added Ali, whose side warmed up for the game with a 2-0 friendly win over Bahrain in Al Ain last week.
“The game needs us to be focused, needs us to be calm, needs support from everywhere. This is what important for us.
“I hope tomorrow we will be ready and motivated and have the utmost desire for the three points.”
Iraq are “a very good team”, Ali insisted, despite having lost three of their four group games to lie fifth — three points behind the UAE.
“Their losses have come from minor mistakes,” he said. “All the teams in the group have the same level, except Thailand.”
Abu Dhabi: Iraq are confident of getting “a very positive result” against the UAE in Tuesday’s crucial 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Abu Dhabi, the intense pressure of which coach Radhi Shenaishil is readily embracing.
The Iraqis are fifth in Group B of the third and final Asian qualification round for Russia 2018, three points behind fourth-place UAE, with only the top two teams guaranteed to reach the World Cup.
But they are certainly not approaching the crucial game at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium with trepidation despite their perilous state, with Shenaishil declaring that his men “are in very good shape”.
And he believes the UAE will be particularly vulnerable given the demoralis
ing 3-0 defeat they suffered last month in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s no secret that qualification is getting to a critical stage and there will be no second chances for any teams,” Shenaishil said at a prematch press conference on Monday. “But if we give our best, we can get a very positive result. We will play for the win tomorrow.
“Is this the last chance for Iraq? We have a great deal of experience of dealing with these situations. We have players playing abroad. The UAE have also suffered defeats and lost some points.
“We need to compensate for our lost points tomorrow. We will do our best.”
Of the UAE’s Saudi setback, he added: “The defeat against the Saudis of course affected the morale of the UAE team. But the pressure is on all the teams, even top teams like Saudi and Japan if they suffer any defeat.”
The Lions of Mesopotamia’s only points of the campaign arrived last month when they thumped bottom side Thailand 4-0 at home.
But Shenaishil feels his side have “played very good matches” despite suffering three defeats to Australia (0-2), Saudi Arabia (1-2) and Japan (1-2), and have only been undone by individual and refereeing mistakes.
His captain, Alaa Abdul-Zahra, was similarly upbeat about his side’s prospects against the UAE, who are 43 places above Iraq at 70 in the Fifa world rankings.
“We are positive about our ability to give a good performance and get a good result,” said the attacking midfielder, who is known as ‘the Kaka of Iraq’ due to his likeness to the former Brazil playmaker. ”We were not lucky in the last matches, but we are playing very well and we are aiming to do the same tomorrow.”
Justin Hikmat Azeez
Allowed space to drag shot wide
Hestinacy
