The UAE coach Dominique Bathenay feels yesterday's friendly draw with Japan will give his players confidence when they take on South Korea in a crucial World Cup qualifying match in Seoul on Wednesday. Japan drew first blood in Niigata through Shinji Kagawa in the 71st minute when he tapped home a cross before Ismail al Hammadi, the second-half substitute, cancelled the lead four minutes later after a superb solo effort.
Kagawa could have put the game to bed but shot wide from a similar cross three minutes from time. The UAE goalkeeper Waleed Salem was kept busy throughout the game and pulled off some fine saves to keep his side, who were gritty, tough and determined throughout, in the game. Bathenay said: "Japan are a strong side and to hold them to a draw was a pretty satisfying result, particularly when we were trailing. It will give the players more confidence when they face South Korea. We tried out a new combination and I felt it worked pretty well for us. Japan had a few more scoring opportunities than we did but that happens in football. The important thing is we didn't allow them to win.
"We too had a few chances and the goal we scored when we were trailing showed the character of this team. We have six days to iron out some of the grey areas of today's game and then be ready for South Korea. "Obviously we can't expect a lot to change from the game we played with Japan but we are hopeful for a good showing in the qualifier. We tried out some new players and they did a pretty decent job.
"They are a young team and sometimes changes can do wonders. We are in a difficult situation and everyone in this squad is aware of it. So we can only go with hope and I'm sure things will work out well for us." The UAE are weakened without the injured captain Abdulraheem Jumaa, and the midfielders Subait Khater and Helal Saeed, both serving one match bans. Faisal Khalil was left out for an off-field incident.
The UAE are bottom of Group Two in which North Korea and Saudi Arabia share the top spot with four points. South Korea and Iran have a point apiece. Japan play Uzbekistan on matchday three of the Asia Zone World Cup qualifiers in Group One that includes Australia, Bahrain and Qatar. apassela@thenational.ae