UAE set for Saudi test

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Palestine's Jaka Hbaisha (right) vies for the ball with UAE's Amer Abdulrahman during their 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifying match on September 8.

Dubai - Mahdi says team not afraid of playing in front of massive crowd

By Hisham Al Gizouli

Published: Thu 8 Oct 2015, 8:29 PM

Last updated: Fri 9 Oct 2015, 1:52 PM

The UAE head coach Mahdi Ali reiterated that the UAE lads were brimming with confidence ahead of their crucial Group-A clash against Saudi Arabia in the fourth round of the 2018 Fifa World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. The match will be played at the King Abdulla Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Thursday (9pm UAE time).
The Saudis are showing the way with nine points from three starts. They are two points ahead of runners-up UAE after The Whites were held to a goalless draw by Palestine in Ramallah last month. "It's not the first time that we would be facing the pressure of playing an away game in a packed stadium," Ali said.
Around 70,000 football crazy Saudi fans are expected to throng the stadium to back their team.
"In football you need to focus throughout the 90 minutes and everything will be fine. It's true that they have done well against us in the past, but this will not necessarily have any bearing on our crucial tie," he told reporters in the pre-match Press conference on Wednesday.
Ali denied that his tactics are revolved around Omer Abdul Rahman. "It's not true that our team work depends on one specific player. Omer Abdul Rahman is part of the team. Yes, he always makes the difference, but the team is not just about him. There are other players as well," he said.
"We have 23 players who are ready to start the game, though we will miss the efforts of our injured left winger Khamis Ismail and stopper Walid Abbas," he confirmed.
"I hope we will claim the full points from this match which is very important for our 2018 World Cup Qualifiers' campaign. We need to take the full points. Our tactics will be bit different. I believe my plan will work," he said.
The Saudis, however, have a slight mental edge with two wins and as many draws from the past five preliminary meetings. The hosts can take heart from their overall record in this fixture, with 19 wins in 31 encounters in all competitions.
The UAEFA president Yousuf Yaqoob Al Serkal travelled to Jeddah from Ramallah to lead the official delegation and show his support for the players before their decisive away clash.
The country's football boss, accompanied by the FA board members Mohammed Abdul Aziz and Mohammed Omer, alongside Nasser bin Thaloap, the director of the office of the president, visited the players at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Jeddah where they were officially informed about the preparations of the team.
hisham@khaleejtimes.com