Kuwait may be the big underdogs for tonight's encounter, but Maher al Shammari, their coach, believes the occasion of a big final could bring the best out of his team.
"The UAE are the favourites in everyone's mind, and I can't disagree, but having made it to the final, I believe my team can still come out with an extra ordinary performance," said al Shammari.
"The final can do wonders to the spirit of the players, and who knows?"
Kuwait can take heart from their battling display in their 1-1 draw in their group clash with the UAE, a result that ended Saudi Arabia's chances of qualification for the knockout stages.
Mahdi Ali, the UAE manager, had the same belief and has called on his players to stay focused.
"The final is different. We must not get carried away with the results from the previous games. We are going into a new game and Kuwait will have the confidence of playing out a draw against us.
"I have full confidence on my players. They have improved after every game and I would like to think the best is yet to come. They have done everything asked from them and one more collective effort is all what we need. The favourite tag doesn't bother me because this team are experienced enough to cope with that.
"But we never know what to expect from an opposition, particularly a team that come into a final without undue pressure."
In last night's third-place play-off, Oman beat the hosts Qatar on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw. Qassem Said opened the scoring for Oman just after the break, but Ahmed Saleh drew Qatar level with 19 minutes left. Oman then won 4-2 in the shoot-out.
apassela@thenational.ae
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers
Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
