THE TRIO: (From left) Caio Canedo, Fabio de Lima and Sebastian Tagliabue. - Agencies
Dubai - The trio will add heft to the team ahead of crucial World Cup qualifying fixtures against Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam
Published: Tue 21 Jul 2020, 3:41 PM
Last updated: Tue 21 Jul 2020, 6:39 PM
Caio Canedo, Fabio de Lima and Sebastian Tagliabue have been named in the UAE squad for the first camp in Al Ain, in the run-up to the World Cup qualifiers in October and November.
The UAE Football Association named a 28-man squad late on Monday night and includes the three strikers who will add heft to the team ahead of the joint World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.
The trio, who have plied their trade in the UAE top flight - the Arabian Gulf League and other domestic competitions for a number or years now, were granted UAE citizenship earlier this year.
That made them eligible to be selected for the National team. Their addition will bolster the team ahead of crucial fixtures against Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The camp, which starts from Wednesday, runs until July 27. The squad will focus on physical fitness during this camp.
The squad underwent Covid-19 tests conducted by the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services on Monday.
The Whites will then link up again for the second camp to be held in Europe from August 1 to 23. The FA are looking at one of the countries with a suitable health status where all necessary arrangements will be made according to the health protocols.
During the camp, the squad are scheduled to play two friendly matches on Fifa match days with their opponents to be announced in due course.
The third and final camp will be held at home from August 31 to September 9 during which the UAE will play friendlies against Jordan on September 4 and Tajikistan on September 8.
The FA finalised the schedule following coordination with new coach Jorge Luis Pinto.
The Whites will host Malaysia in their first match on resumption on October 8 before travelling to Indonesia for the away leg against The Garuda, on October 13.
The UAE then play Thailand at home on November 12 and Vietnam on November 17.
It is a critical time for the UAE and victory in all four of their remaining fixtures is paramount if they are to make it to the next round of the qualifiers. They are placed fourth in Group G.
The UAE have two wins and two defeats from four matches. They had begun their campaign with a 2-1 victory away against Malaysia and followed that up by swamping Indonesia 5-0 at the Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai.
But they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Thailand and a solitary goal loss to Vietnam.
SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Khalid Eisa, Ali Khaseif, Adel Al Hosani, Mohamed Al Shamsi.
Defenders: Mohamed Barghash, Abdulaziz Haikal, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Marzooq, Mohammed Ahmed, Waleed Abbas, Ismail Ahmed, Yousef Jaber.
Midfielders: Majed Hassan, Tariq Ahmed, Khamis Ismail, Ahmed Barman, Ali Salmin, Ali Saleh, Abdullah Ramadan, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Khalfan Mubarak, Omar Abdulrahman.
Forwards: Caio Canedo, Fabio de Lima, Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Khalil, Sebastian Tagliabue.
Coach: Jorge Luis Pinto.
james@khaleejtimes.com
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