Difficult goals inspire UAE footballers

Guangzhou: Any coach would have opted for an easier route towards a medal, but UAE coach Mahdi Ali would rather take the tough route to get his squad on the winners podium.

"Ending on top of the group may not be the best most often simply because you tend to meet the stronger teams in the early knock-out stages of the competition," Mehdi Ali told Gulf News.

"But given the fact that it is this team that we all know so well, I would rather have them going through this tough path than the easier one," he added.

The UAE thrashed 1994 Asian Games champions Uzbekistan 3-0 last Thursday to end at the top of Group E ahead of Hong Kong on a better goal difference. They will now meet Kuwait in the pre-quarterfinal knock-out stage of the competition.

"From now on there can be no excuses. A win is a must and we must take things one match at a time.

However, he was wary of the fact that his young side will run into more formidable opponents, should they advance past the IOC-backed team from Kuwait today.

"Ending at the top of the group is tough as the path to the final is more difficult," Ali said.

"We will most probably meet one of the two Koreas in the quarter-finals. It would have been better to face them at the later stages, but I more than welcome this as we have to cross the hurdle at some point of time," he added.

The UAE coach further admitted that there are going to be no easy matches from now on. "This is a top-level competition and such tough opponents are to be expected. We don't see playing against tough teams as a problem for us as these are all young players and their growth and development as footballers will continue only through such matches," the coach said.

Aspiring for next level

"They need this sort of experience and playing strong matches to get their game to the next level. We are more than ready for any team," he stressed.

Star striker Ahmad Khalil, who got two goals against Uzbekistan on Thursday said his team needs to deliver on the huge promise they have shown here. "There is no difference between teams now. Everyone is a threat from now on. There are no weak teams as the winner takes it all. For this we don't really bother who our next opponent is, but rather we are focusing on the task on our hands: to win a medal for the UAE," Khalil said.