Metsu wary of Jordanians' form

Dubai: The UAE need at least one point from today's clash against Jordan to secure a berth in the Asian Cup Finals, to be held in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam next year.

The match kick off will be at 7:15 pm at Maktoum Bin Rashid stadium at the Al Shabab Club. The UAE team officials are banking on the home support in today's crucial encounter.

The UAE are currently topping Group C with nine points with three straight wins. The last victory was against Jordan in Amman three weeks ago.

"It will be a different and difficult match for both teams. What makes it more difficult is the good form of Jordan in their last warm-up match against Bahrain, which they won 2-0 in Manama," said Metsu after the UAE's training session yesterday.

The UAE, in their preparations, have held a five-day training camp in Al Ain after returning last week from Jeddah, where they lost 0-1 to Saudi Arabia in a warm-up match.

"We have 20 players fit for the match today. Only Haydar Allo Ali is not included due to the two yellow cards. We will adopt suitable tactics to help us achieve the result we are looking for."

Metsu said a few new players were added to the Jordan team, who didn't play in the first leg. "The new additions will be an advantage for the Jordanian team, although they will not make a big change in a short time."

He said there would be no surprises in today's clash. "Only hard work on the field will give us excellent results," Metsu added.

Significant role

The Jordanian team held their last training session at the Al Shabab stadium last night.

The Egyptian coach Mahmoud Al Johary, who conducted the training, has played a significant role in developing the standard of the Jordanian team in recent years.

Jordan have three points from three matches after losing to UAE and Oman. Their only win came against Pakistan. Any result less than a win means they are out of the race.

"The win is the only way for us to revive our hopes of reaching the finals. Though we will do our best, it is not an easy task against a strong team like the UAE," said Al Johary, who had worked with Al Wahda and Sharjah clubs.

"Most of the UAE national players were youth when I worked in the UAE in the '90s. I think they played for long time as a team and this is the secret of their strength and success.."

Probable teams

UAE:

Walid Salim, Mohammad Qasim, Adil Abdul Aziz, Humaid Fakher, Mohammad Khamis, Saleh Obaid, Ali Wehaibi, Abdul Rahim Juma, Hilal Saeed, Nawaf Mubarak, Esmail Mattar, Subait Khater, Mohammad Omar, Salim Sa'ad, Faisal Khalil.

Jordan:

Amir Shafea, Mohammad Khamis, Bashar Bani Yasin, Faisal Ebrahim, Amir Deep, Khalid Sa'ad, Basim Fat'hi, Qussaya Abu Alia, Hasan Abdul Fattah, Moayed Selim, Rafat Ali, Abdul Hadi Al Maharma, Seraj Al Tell.