Mattar shines as UAE defeat hapless Kuwait

Abu Dhabi: UAE ace footballer Esmail Mattar was all smiles after he guided his country to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Kuwait in a warm-up game on Tuesday.

Mattar scored his team's second goal and created many chances in addition to showing glimpses of his usual dazzling form which earned him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in the Fifa Under 20 World Cup in 2003.

Mattar's goal was his first under Sretchko Katanec, who has led the team in 11 matches so far.

Mutual understanding

"We played a good match with all the players showing their best. We reached the extent of having complete mutual understanding between us and I believe that helped us to excel," he said.

"We are determined to do our best to benefit from these matches in order to get the best preparations for the Gulf Cup in Yemen so we can win the trophy again. Mind you, winning friendly matches does not mean that we will win the Gulf Cup. We have to be at our best to compete for the title in Yemen," Mattar said.

Meanwhile, team captain and midfielder Subait Khater praised the performance of the young players.

"We have a number of highly gifted young players who can have a bright future and help the UAE win great achievements in football," he said.

"All the players deserve praise, especially the youngsters and how they combined with their elder colleagues. We played a good match and I do believe that we still have more to show in the next matches because the weather, which is still hot and humid and the month of Ramadan prevented us from showing all our capabilities."

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