Yemen team arrives for crucial soccer encounter

The Yemeni national football team arrived in Dubai yesterday to play their last match in the World Cup qualifier Asian group 8 against UAE at Al Qattara stadium in Al Ain tomorrow.
"We are very happy to be in the UAE to meet our brothers in a World Cup qualifier. The match is crucial, but regardless of the competitive nature of the game, it will strengthen the relations between the two countries," said Saleh Khamis Yasllam, secretary general, Yemeni Football Association and head of the delegation to the Gulf News at the Dubai Airport yesterday.

"The win against UAE in Sanaa last week has raised the morale of the players, and has narrowed the gap to top the group," said the Yemeni FA Secretary. However, Yasllam he doesn't want to predict the result of tomorrow's match. "The match will decide who will top group 8. I don't want to deal with an unknown result in advance. Let us wait till tomorrow and see," he added.

UAE Football Association general secretary Mohammed bin Dokhan received the Yemeni delegation at the Dubai Airport yesterday. Zaid Ahmed Al Inssi Charge d'affaires Yemeni Embassy in Abu Dhabi and other Yemeni diplomats from Abu Dhabi and Dubai consulate also were present at the airport.

Even a draw is enough for Yemen (11 points) to qualify for the next stage, while the UAE are in a must win situation with nine points from five matches.

UAE are playing without the sacked French coach Henry Michel, who was responsible of the two defeats against India and Yemen. Michel was replaced by UAE national Abdullah Saqr - a decision welcomed by the FA, the media, and the football supporters.

The Yemeni national team coach Brazilian Ahmed Lusiano said that his team was ready for the challenge. "We are well prepared for our most important match. I hope the two teams will show an excellent performance. The Yemen coach added that he knows the UAE team well. "The UAE team is not easy to beat, especially when playing at home. Despite that we hope we will perform well and repeat the performance of Sanaa last Friday."

Lusiano assured that he would not play for a draw. "If we play for a draw, we will lose. Any mistake at a crucial moment will cost us the match. We will attack and go for a win from the start."

The Yemeni delegation includes 24 players. They are: Fawzi Bamhaid, Ma'az Abdul Khaleq, Aziz Salim, Ibrahim Ahmed, Radhwan Abdul Jabbar, Faisal Al Hadj, Mahmood Mohmmed Ali, Nashwan Abdul Aziz, Ali Abood Awadh, Khalid Abdo, Ali Al Ja'arra, Jamal Abdullah, Mohammed Abdullah, Salim Saeed, Basil Awadh, Abdul Rahman saeed, Mohammed Salim, Anwar Muttahar, Fadhl Oromi, Ali Al Nono, Adel Al Sallmi, Abdul Salam Al Ghurbani, Osama Bakhashwan and Sharaf Mahfooz.