Tricky test awaits UAE in Gulf Cup opener

Muscat: Reigning champions UAE face a tricky test against Yemen as they kick off their Gulf Cup campaign at the Police Stadium here on Monday.

The match has attracted much attention and hype with the Yemenis saying they are determined to beat the UAE for the first time and compete for a place in the semifinals.

"Yemen have nothing to lose and everything to win. That is the source of the danger," Dr Abdullah Misfer, the UAE's assistant coach, told Gulf News yesterday. "They can afford to gamble while the other teams in the group cannot."

Interestingly, Yemen have never lost their opening match in the Gulf Cup since their debut in 2004 in Kuwait. However, they lost 2-1 to the UAE when the two sides met two year ago after putting up a strong fight.

"They have improved greatly and we respect them," added Misfer. "But we have confidence in our team and if we play our usual game we will emerge winners,." Misfer added.

The UAE will be missing the services of their ace player Esmail Mattar, the top scorer and the best player of the last edition of the tournament in 2007, which the UAE had won for the first time ever. Mattar flew back to Abu Dhabi, following the death of his father.

His absence will give coach Dominique Bathenay the option to try out a series of combinations, featuring Mohammad Al Shehhi, Esmail Al Hammadi, Mohammad Omar and Ahmad Mohammad Mubarak (Dada), depending on what game plan he opts to go with today.

Bathenay said: "Our match is difficult, especially since we will miss the services of Mattar, but his replacement will do his best in the match. We have 24 players and all of them are ready to play. We will not take any of our op ponents for granted in our quest to defend the title we had won two years ago."

Bathenay added: "Yemen are a good team and are capable of achieving good results in the tournament."

Majid Nasser is expected to feature in goal with Hayder Allo Ali, Mohammad Qasim, Faris Juma and Mohammad Fayez (Saleh Obaid) in defence. Abdul Salam Juma, Abdul Rahim Jumaa, Esmail Al Hammadi and Nawaf Mubarak will be in the midfield, while Mohammad Omar and Mohammad Al Shehhi will feature in the attack.

"We are well prepared for the tournament and we will give all our matches our full concentration. We want to return back home with the trophy," Saleh Obaid told Gulf News.

"We are sorry to miss Esmail [Mattar], but we have good players who can score goals and we hope that Esmail will soon join us."

Do you think UAE will be able to successfully defend its title? Which team will pose the biggest threat to UAE's campaign?

It is very unfortunate that Esmail Mattar, a prolific scorer, will not feature in the UAE vs. Yemen match. Be that as it may, the UAE still has a very good team that can bring the cup back to us. We are solidly behind you. Do us proud again!
Kehinde Idowu
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 15:31

I have complete faith in our team and hopefully UAE will defend its title and win it for the second time. It is really sad to know that Esmail Mattar's father passed away but UAE has young talented strikers who can play instead of Esmail. Best of luck. We are with you!
Mohammad
Ajman,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 01:28