UAE women's football team beat Maldives 5-1 ahead of Asian Cup qualifiers

Dubai - Laila Al Muhairi scored a brilliant hat trick for the home team

UAE’s women’s national football team beat Maldives 5-1 in the first friendly match in Dubai on Sunday.

Laila Al Muhairi scored a brilliant hat trick for the home team, while Areej Al Hammadi and Naima Ibrahim scored the other goals.

The emphatic victory put the UAE team in a good stead as they prepare for the qualifying rounds of the 2022 Asian Cup in India.

The hard work of national coach Houria Al Tahri, who is leaving no stone unturned in an attempt to help the team qualify for the showpiece event in Asia, produced result on Sunday as UAE completely dominated Maldives.

Amal Bushlakh, member of the Board of Directors of the Football Association and head of the Women’s Football Committee who attended the friendly match between UAE and Maldives, said the preparations are on track.

“We will compete to grab the qualifying ticket to the finals,” Bushlakh said.

The 2022 Asian Cup will be held in three venues in India. Four teams have earned automatic berths– 2018 champions Japan, runners-up Australia, third placed China and hosts India.

Twenty eight teams, including UAE, will compete in the qualifying rounds to grab the remaining eight spots in the tournament.

The qualifying matches will be held from September 16 to September 30.

UAE have been placed in Group D in the qualifying rounds with Lebanon, Myanmar and Guam. Lebanon will host the Group D matches in the qualifying rounds.