Manchester: Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez is leaving nothing to chance when his side take on minnows UAE in their London 2012 football competition Group A opener at Old Trafford on Thursday.
“The UAE are here after having won their group in the Asian qualifiers. They possess a good technique and their striker No. 11 [Ahmad Khalil] is good and strong. In addition, they have a good midfield that has been helped with all the friendly matches they have played coming in to London,” Tabarez told media in the pre-match press conference here on Wednesday.
The Uruguayan coach also gave his thoughts on the limitations of the UAE side, pointing out that their average height of 1.83m may go against them. “Their finishing too is not the best. I can see this team that can be identified as one that is more offensive, but we have the players, including some on the bench, who can get us a favourable result,” he said.
“We are really happy and the spirit in the team is really good. We have not had too many friendly matches, but we know what we need to work on. We are aware of our shortcomings and our strengths and we will work accordingly. We have a really experienced side and the presence of the senior players has enhanced the team spirit.”
Uruguay come into their third Olympic Games with an impeccable record of winning all their matches so far. They won the gold medal on both the occasions that they competed in the Olympics football tournament — in 1928 and four years later in 1932.
“We have a legacy to defend and there is a huge commitment from the players. We are taking things step by step. We have received different information on the UAE and we will try to exploit these weaknesses,” Tabarez said.
