Al Ain: Mahdi Ali has shrugged off the UAE’s mounting injury list and insists the Whites can achieve “a positive result” in their vital World Cup qualifier with Japan at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on Thursday, kick-off 7.30pm.
Ali’s side are currently fourth in Asian zone Group B at the halfway stage of the final phase of qualification for Russia 2018, but will be deprived of several key men for the clash with the second-place Japanese.
The UAE are already without midfielders Majid Hassan and Amer Abdul Rahman, and the suspended Tariq Ahmad through suspension, while totemic striker Ahmad Khalil and defensive colossus Esmail Ahmad face late fitness tests.
As such, Ali’s preparations for Thursday’s encounter and then a daunting test in Sydney against the reigning Asian champions Australia next Tuesday have been severely hampered.
The UAE currently lie only one point behind Japan, whom they overcame 2-1 away in their group opener last September, in their quest to reach their second World Cup after Italia 1990.
But the taciturn Ali is unwavering in his belief that his injury-hit squad can thrive in adversity.
“We are having some difficulties and we miss many players,” the 51-year-old said at a packed pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“In the UAE, we have a limited number of players we can choose. But we are used to this situation — it is a part of football. We should not think about the injuries, but think about how we play this match, and how to win it.
“We will try our best and work hard to make a positive result.”
Realistically, the UAE must aim to secure four points from their upcoming double-header to keep their qualification dreams alive.
Defeats to Australia (1-0 at home) and Saudi Arabia (3-0 away) last year were hugely damaging to the UAE’s campaign, with only the two teams in the group qualifying automatically, while the third-placed side faces a series of play-offs.
How are the Whites coping in the knowledge that another defeat could possibly spell the end of their hopes of flying the flag for the Emirates on the global stage?
“We are thinking about this match at the moment,” Ali said. “In football, anything can happen, so you have to prepare for everything. What we think about is only how to do our best regardless of the result that comes. But usually the result comes with hard work, so we think only to work hard and do our best on the pitch irrespective of what condition we have at the moment.
“In the end, this is football and one team will win. We always think about positive things, we don’t want to think about negative things. And I hope that thinking about the positive will make a good emotion and motivation for us.”
The UAE can draw confidence from their superb, backs-to-the-wall triumph over the Japanese at the Saitama Stadium courtesy of Khalil’s brace.
Prior to that, they also beat Japan 5-4 on penalties in the quarter-finals of the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia.
But Ali stressed that history counts for nothing on Thursday.
“Football doesn’t believe in history — what happened in the previous game is in the past. Football knows only one language: how prepared you are, how strong you are on the pitch, how much effort you give in the game. And I think we always play our football, always try to work hard, whether in training or on the pitch. And that makes the difference in the team.
“Of course, we are in a good position as well as the other three teams in the table. This gives us a lot of motivation to fight for our chances to qualify. The last time was 1990, and this gives us a lot of motivation for the players, the fans and the staff. Mentally we’re in good shape because we’re playing at home and we’ll work hard to do our best in this game.”
Asia World Cup qualifying fixtures
Group A
China v Korea
Syria v Uzbekistan
Qatar v Iran
Group B
Thailand v Saudi Arabia
Iraq v Australia
UAE v Japan
Group A
1 Iran 5 3 2 0 4 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 2 0 1 0 4 11
2 South Korea 5 3 1 1 8 6 3 0 0 8 5 0 1 1 0 1 2 10
3 Uzbekistan 5 3 0 2 5 3 2 0 1 3 1 1 0 1 2 2 2 9
4 Syria 5 1 2 2 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 2 -1 5
5 Qatar 5 1 1 3 3 6 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 2 2 5 -3 4
6 China 5 0 2 3 2 6 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 2 5 -4 2
Group B
1 Saudi Arabia 5 3 1 1 9 5 2 1 0 6 2 1 0 1 3 3 4 10
2 Japan 5 3 1 1 8 5 2 0 1 5 4 1 1 0 3 1 3 10
3 Australia 5 2 3 0 8 5 1 1 0 3 1 1 2 0 5 4 3 9
4 United Arab Emirates 5 3 0 2 7 6 2 0 1 5 2 1 0 1 2 4 1 9
5 Iraq 5 1 0 4 6 8 1 0 1 5 2 0 0 3 1 6 -2 3
6 Thailand 5 0 1 4 3 12 0 1 1 2 4 0 0 3 1 8 -9 1
