Abu Dhabi: The UAE will begin training at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi on Friday for their pivotal 2018 World Cup qualifier with Iraq on Tuesday.
This follows the Whites’ rudimentary 2-0 victory over Bahrain in a friendly at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on Wednesday evening.
Mahdi Ali, the UAE coach, may have learnt little from the win, which came courtesy of goals from captain Esmail Mattar and Walid Abbas.
But at least it provided a vital morale boost heading into Tuesday’s showdown with the Iraqis at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Whites currently sit fourth in Group B, in the third and final qualification phase for Russia 2018, after four games, the last of which was a 3-0 humbling in Saudi Arabia last month.
As such, victory is essential for the UAE if they are to maintain credible hopes of reaching their second World Cup after Italia 1990.
Only the top two from Group A and Group B in the Asian qualifiers are guaranteed to progress to Russia, while those finishing third in both groups will meet in a bid to reach an inter-confederation play-off.
The UAE have five points, four adrift of leaders Saudi, two behind second-place Australia and a point shy of Japan.
As expected against the Bahrainis, meanwhile, the UAE were vastly superior to opponents ranked 53 places below them at 123rd in the Fifa world rankings.
Ali’s men took the lead on the half-hour when Omar Abdul Rahman, fresh from being named on a three-man shortlist for the Asian Player of the Year award, released Abbas on the left-hand side.
The Al Ahli defender, whose return from injury is a welcome boon for Ali, crossed for Mattar to tap in one of the easiest of his 35th strikes for his country in his 113th appearance.
Mattar and Abbas combined again for the UAE’s second goal, this time the latter firing a low shot from a narrow angle past Sayed Nazar in the Bahrain goal.
Miroslav Soukup’s side did threaten at times despite being outclassed, most notably in the 71st minute when substitute Mohammad Al Romaithi fired straight at Majid Nasser with only the UAE goalkeeper to beat.
At the other end, the reigning Asian Player of the Year, Ahmad Khalil, went close with two efforts.
On the whole, Ali will be pleased with his side’s night work, particularly the performance of the veteran striker Mattar and his Al Wahda teammate Hamdan Al Kamali, who deputised for Esmail Ahmad in central defence as he continues his return to fitness.
Khalfan Mubarak, the Al Jazira playmaker whose scintillating club form earned him a late call-up to the squad, was introduced for the final 20 minutes as a replacement for Abdul Rahman.
The Al Nasr youngster Tariq Ahmad was also given another chance to develop his nascent centre-midfield partnership with Khamis Esmail of Al Ahli.
