UAE Under 23s coach Abdullah Misfir believes that the high standard of teams at the AFC U23 Championships means the tournament is wide open, as his side prepares for their first Group D match against Australia in Doha on Thursday night.
There is a lot riding on the tournament as it provides a route into this summer’s Olympic Games, with the teams finishing in the top three positions booking their tickets to Rio de Janeiro.
Misfir said on Wednesday as he completed final preparations ahead of the match: “The technical level of all 16 teams in Asia is very high and we expect fierce competition between all teams.
“All the teams have a chance to win and we are one of the teams coming to compete at this tournament, and to qualify for the Olympics in 2016 and that is why we are expecting all the games to be very strong.”
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The UAE’s other group matches will be against Jordan on Sunday and Vietnam on Wednesday, but Misfir is not looking too far ahead yet.
“After the group stage we can talk about competing for the title and if we can qualify for Rio 2016,” he said.
“The group stage is very strong for all teams and to pass it is harder than the knockout stage.”
Khalfan Mubarak, the UAE midfielder, believes the players are in the best possible shape ahead of the opening match saying that “impossible is not Emirati”.
“The Australian team will be wary of us, as we are of them,” the Al Jazira player said. “We have played several Australian age group teams, so we need to keep perspective and not blow the match out of proportions.
“We just need perform to the best of our ability, what happens on the pitch is what counts, not anything that went on before.”
The UAE arrived in Doha on Sunday and carried out two training sessions on Monday and Tuesday, with every player taking part including Al Nasr goalkeeper Ahmed Shambieh, who was returning from injury.
“It’ll be tough for all the teams,” Shambieh said. “The Australian team will want to get off to a winning start, and so do we, everything is possible. I am confident in our ability to achieve a positive result and make the fans that made it to Doha happy.”
The goalkeeper does not believe there is a difference in quality with the Australians, and insisted the UAE do not fear any opposition in the tournament as they look to follow in the footsteps of the 2012 side, which included Omar Abdulrahman and Ismail Matar, who qualified and played in the London Games.
“We have massive belief in ourselves and we know how strong the competition is,” Shambieh added. “We have a target and we are aiming to achieve it, participation in the Olympics would be historic as it does not come around often and like the World Cup it can be a once in a life time opportunity.”
Australia coach Aurelio Vidmar insisted that his team has the utmost regard for the UAE team.
“Our country has a long history with games against the UAE,” he said. “Whether with the senior team, there is a good history and respect between the two teams.
“We played qualifiers for London 2012 with the UAE in our group. They have some talented players and if you look back at the last generation which is now with the senior team, I know see the same in this group.
“It will be a tough game for us, but we have prepared for the game and I am very content where we are at the moment.”
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