UAE announce squad for crucial campaign

With precisely a week to go before UAE take on Uzbekistan in the second round qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup football, UAE's national team coach Abdulla Saqr is both satisfied and confident.

After announcing the final 24 players for the crucial campaign, Saqr's satisfaction seemed to be appropriate. The side seemed to have settled down into a fighting unit and showed a lot of qualities which were found to be lacking during their unimpressive first round campaign.

Saqr, despite shouldering a heavy responsibility as the first-ever national coach of the UAE team, has kept a low profile while allowing the UAE side to knit themselves into a fighting unit. This was revealed in both the matches when the side fought back after a dull start against Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The ability to stage a fightback when the chips are down will be a big plus point for the side, particularly in the hot and humid weather during the home matches.

Though Saqr fielded almost the entire list of probables in the last week, his first choice playing eleven has been clearly evident. Moataz Abdulla in goal with Fahad Ali, Jalil Abdul Rahman and Abdul Rahman Ibrahim as the central defenders. The deep defence have been in spots of trouble and this is one area which Saqr will have to work at.

The two wing backs have been at their best, particularly Fahad Masaood. The diminutive Fahad's full recovery has come at the most appropriate period, and there is no doubt that UAE will depend a lot on him. Ghareeb Hareb has also blossomed into a roving left back, except that the UAE midfielders fail to utilise his full potential. Humaid Fakher and Mohammed Rabie are two players who add to the bench strength of the UAE side in this department.

Abdul Salam Juma and Abdul Rahim Juma, the two brothers from Al Wahda, have almost made their spots permanent in the crucial midfield area. Saqr's worry is the third central midfielder and his choice will be mainly from Abdulaziz Anbari, Bhakit Saad, Subait Khatir and Haider Ali Allo. Anbari's experience and ability to pierce the defence with through passes are another asset to the team. Subait's form would give Saqr the much-needed fillip to his midfield plans.

Like the deep defence, UAE's strike force have also been a source of worry to Saqr. Yasir Salim and Saeed Al Kas, the likely pair to feature in Saqr's attacks, have shone in patches. Mohammed Omar is the other striker while his brother Zuhair Bhakit, might be called on only to perform a 'Roger Milla' like role in the later stages of any match.

Even against Saudi Arabia, Zuhair showed his individual skills, but his speed and stamina seemed to have let him down. Promising Faisal Khalil is in the Zuhair mould and has the skill to penetrate rival defences.

"I am satisfied with the performance so far. We will now try and iron out the weak points and also concentrate on tactics," said Saqr. "We take a two-day break and reassemble on Saturday," Saqr added.

"Uzbekistan is still an unknown commodity though we have seen them in the qualifiers and the Merdeka tournament in Malaysia. However, at this stage there is no doubt that I do feel confident of picking up full points against them," said Saqr.

After lifting the morale of the battered side he inherited from Frenchman Henry Michel and channelising their talent has seen Round One go to the humble and mild Saqr.

Now Saqr has his task cut out as he prepares for the main battle. China are the favourites, Qatar have impressed with their performances of late, Uzbekistan is an on-off side while Oman, UAE's neighbours, are a fighting side. It certainly is a hot seat Saqr is on.

UAE team and fixtures

The UAE advanced to the second round after finishing on top of their four-team group which included Yemen, India and Brunei.

The six players who were not included in the list of 24 players are: Mohammed Ibrahim, Mohammed Ali and Qazim Ali (from Al Nasr Club), Salim Khamis (Al Ahli), Salim Saad (Al Shabab) and Omran Al Jessmy of Al Shaab, who was left out early due to injury.

The team (24 players):

Goalkeepers: Moataz Abdulla, Saeed Juma, Juma Rashid

Defenders: Humaid Fakher, Fahad Ali, Jalil Abdul Rahman, Mohammed Qasim, Fahad Masaood, Mohammed Rabie, Basheer Saeed, Ghareeb Hareb, Abdul Rehman Ibrahim

Midfielders: Abdul Salam Juma, Abdul Rahim Juma, Sultan Rashid, Abdul Aziz Anbari, Subait Khatir, Bhakit Saad, Haider Ali Allo

Forwards: Yasir Salim, Saeed Al Kas, Mohammed Omar, Zuhair Bhakit and Faisal Khaleel

Teams in Group A: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Thailand and Bahrain
Teams in Group B: The UAE, China, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Oman.

Format: Teams play each other on a home and away basis in a league format. The top team qualifies for the World Cup. The runners-up of the two groups play each other at home and away and the winners take on a team from Europe.

Japan and Korea have already qualified by virtue of being joint hosts of the 2002 World Cup.

Matches featuring UAE:
UAE vs Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi - August 17; vs China in Shenyang, China- August 25; vs Qatar in Abu Dhabi - August 31; vs Oman in Muscat - September 14; vs Uzbekistan in Tashkent - September 23; vs China in Abu Dhabi - September 27; vs Qatar in Doha - October 4; vs Oman in Abu Dhabi - October 19.