Dubai: UAE fans will be hoping to see improvement from the Whites when they take on Honduras in Barcelona on Thursday from 7pm (UAE time) in the first of two friendlies during their Spanish camp from October 6-16.
Alberto Zaccheroni’s side disappointed in their last tour of Spain, the second of five preparatory camps ahead of their Asian Cup hosting from January 5 to February 1, where they face India, Bahrain and Thailand in Group A.
A 2-0 friendly defeat to Trinidad and Tobago in Girona early last month left the UAE Football Association issuing Zaccheroni a vote of confidence, before the Italian redeemed himself with a 3-0 win over Laos days later.
That game saw the UAE double their goal tally from the manager’s previous 11 games in charge. It also represented the first time they had scored more than one goal inside 90 minutes since Zaccheroni had taken over last October.
What with Laos being ranked 101 positions below the UAE however, the result wasn’t as reassuring as it sounds.
Given friendly opponents have also been cherry-picked to give the UAE a progressively tougher challenge in the build up to the Asian Cup, defeats and naysaying will only continue if the Whites can’t impress against Honduras, who are ranked 15 places above them.
After this game, there will be another chance for the team to prove themselves against Venezuela at the same Olympic Stadium venue in Barcelona on Sunday. Venezuela are ranked 45 positions above the UAE making it even harder.
This is the third of five camps in the build-up to the Asian Cup after a tour of Salzburg, Austria, from August 1-19 and Girona, Spain from September 1-12. There will also be two domestic camps from November 6-20 and December 15-31, with subsequent friendlies to be announced during those dates.
The UAE had earlier drawn with Andorra, who are ranked 51 places below them, during their camp in Austria in August.
As well as having to contend with criticism of poor performances in friendlies, Zaccheroni has also met the wrath of UAE club coaches who are unhappy with the timing of his continual camps, not least Al Ain coach Zoran Mamic, who has been without the majority of his squad in the first half of the season due to international commitments.
The same subject came up ahead of Al Ain’s Arabian Gulf Cup trip to Al Jazira on Wednesday. Other midweek Arabian Gulf Cup games saw Shabab Ahli beat Al Wasl 2-0 away to go fourth in Group A behind leaders Al Wahda who beat Ajman 1-0 on Tuesday. In Tuesday’s other game Al Dhafra went third in Group B with a 4-2 win at home to Emirates.
