Abu Dhabi: Mahdi Ali, the UAE coach, could have been justifiably buoyant on Tuesday evening, having seen the Whites keep their 2018 Fifa World Cup qualification hopes alive with a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in Abu Dhabi.
But Ali, ever the pragmatist and perfectionist, instead chose to scrutinise his perceived failings of his side’s bid to reach the global showpiece for the second time after their Italia 1990 debut — and demand improvement.
Ali’s post-match comments were completely at odds with the delirium in the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium stands, which were crammed with more than 30,000 supporters.
They celebrated wildly as the UAE sealed their place in the final Asian Football Confederation round of World Cup qualification as one of the four best runners-up from eight groups.
But Ali, who said the fans were “the best player on the pitch”, was a picture of solemnity rather than elation afterwards.
“We had three clear chances that we could not use,” he said. “Due to some nervous performances from the defence, this affected our attacks negatively.
“In the second half, we fixed the problems of the performance and the players performed accurately all the instructions that I mentioned to them so we could have some chances for scoring, but we couldn’t score more than one goal.”
That goal came from Omar Abdul Rahman, who lashed in from 12 yards in the 52nd minute to level Taisser Al Jassam’s 24th minute opener, an acrobatic volley after a mesmerising spell of passing from the visitors.
A draw meant the UAE finished second in Asian zone Group A, three points behind the Saudis.
Another estimable achievement for Ali, then, after he presided over an Olympic debut for the under-23 team at London 2012, a Gulf Cup triumph in 2013 and a third-place finish at last year’s Asian Cup.
“Some people measure the performance of the team in comparison to the last Asian Cup and to the Olympics,” Ali continued.
“And I say there is no comparison at all. In these championships, the preparation period was not as short as it is now.
“We had only four days before the Palestine match [last Thursday] and very short preparation before the Saudi Arabia match.
“I made a mistake personally in giving the [Arabian Gulf League] clubs the chance to prepare the players in the summer. I don’t underestimate the effort of the clubs. I just want to say each club has its style in the preparation.
“Next time, we have to make the preparation better because the qualifying period will be in the summer. We will not make the same mistake again. We have also to add some players from the Olympic team.”
Ali said the UAE had felt “much pressure” from their fans ahead of the Saudi clash, exacerbated by injuries and the suspensions of the midfield trio of Esmail Al Hammadi, Majid Hassan and Habib Fardan.
Furthermore, he and his squad were rocked by the sudden death earlier this month of Lars Gansauer, the team’s video analyst and statistician, from a heart attack during training.
“All these things truly affected the performance of the team. We dedicate this victory to Lars. We say thanks to him. He spent eight years with us.
“He was always one of us. I hope all God’s mercy will be upon him.”
