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UAE face uphill task in qualifiers

Dubai - Mahdi Ali's men placed in tough group in final stage of World Cup qualifying

The UAE are placed in a tough Group B along with Asian Cup champions Australia and Japan for the last qualifying round of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The UAE, Socceroos, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Thailand were drawn in Group B at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.
The UAE lads will open their campaign against Japan on September 1. The second encounter will be at home against Australia on September 6. Then they will travel to Bangkok to play Thailand on October 6. They will face Saudi Arabia five days later and conclude the first round against Iraq at home on November 15.
The Boys In White are looking forward to emulating the 1990 UAE team by qualifying for the World Cup for the second time in their history.
Mohammed bin Hazzam, secretary general of the UAEFA, attended the draw ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. He was accompanied by Hassan Al Abdouli, assistant head coach and Mutrif Al Shamsi, national team's manager.
Hazzam commented: "The upcoming stage of the qualifiers require more solidarity from the team in order to make it to the finals in 2018. We are confident that our boys will live up to the challenge. They are capable of emulating the golden generation in 1990. The Boys In White have already made their presence felt at the juniors and Olympic levels by qualifying for London 2012 Games. The senior team also finished third in the recent AFC Asian Cup 2015 in Australia," he said.
"We must prepare well for the challenge ahead. The job is not going to be easy and we need to raise our game in order to reach the finals," he added.
Meanwhile, Iran and South Korea were the top-seeded teams in Group A, which also includes China, Uzbekistan, 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar and Syria.
The teams were drawn into two groups of six, with the matches starting in September. The top two teams in each group qualify automatically, with the third-place teams playing off for a shot at an inter-continental qualifier against the fourth-place team from CONCACAF.
The teams were seeded and drawn from six pots based on the April 7 Fifa rankings, meaning Iran and Australia - the top teams in the rankings - could not meet, and nor could South Korea and Japan.
Australia are expected to open against 2007 Asian champions Iraq at home on Sept. 1 before travelling to the UAE. In October, the Australians travel to Saudi Arabia before returning for a home match against Japan, which have qualified for the last five World Cups.
Japan are the only team in the group with a winning record against Australia, with eight wins and eight draws in their 23 international meetings.
"If you want to make it to such a prestigious tournament, you've got to beat the best. I'm excited," Australia forward Tim Cahill, who scored twice in a comeback win over Japan in his World Cup debut in 2006, told Fox Sports Australia.
"This is what football is all about. We've done so well in the Asian Cup by winning it - this is where it's going to separate the men from the boys. We're ready for it. We want to play the best."
South Korea is growing in confidence after reaching the final of the 2015 Asian Cup, topping their second-round group with 24 unanswered goals.
"We played exceptionally well in 2015, so we're full of confidence. I'm very optimistic that we'll make it to Russia," South Korea coach Uli Stielike said ahead of the draw.
War-torn Syria reached the final round despite the ongoing upheaval, forcing the national team to play the entire second round away from home.
The Syrians finished behind Japan in the previous stage, to progress as one of the four best second-place teams. - Agencies