Dubai: A hat-trick from Mohammad Abbas and a brace from Ahmad Ali helped the UAE thrash mighty Vietnam 8-3 on the second day of the Asian Beach Soccer Cup being held in Haiyang, China.
Coach Marcelo Mendes’s team now take on Australia, whom they beat earlier this year to secure a place in this year’s Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup.
Abbas’s two early goals took the UAE clear 3-0 within three minutes, but Vietnam responded and levelled in the space of a couple of minutes through Nguyen D and Phuc. Abbas hit a third in the dying seconds of the first period to keep UAE ahead.
Phung T drew the Vietnamese level again only to see the UAE race ahead with five unanswered goals in the final period to win crucial points and stay clear of Australia in Group B.
Hosts China also kept themselves in the fray with goalkeeper Tingyuan Wen giving his side their first three points after scoring with just seconds to go for a 4-3 win.
