The UAE national football team were scheduled to leave for Austria today to start their preparations for a busy season, which includes the Gulf Cup and Asian Cup. The 25-strong squad will stay in Austria and Germany until June 6 and will play two friendly matches, against Moldova in Salzburg on May 29 and then against World Cup-bound Algeria in Hamburg on June 5. Ismail Rashid, the team manager, reckons those two games and the training camp will start the team moving in the right direction ahead of the Gulf Cup in Yemen from November 22 to December 4, and the Asian Cup that starts on January 7 2011 in Qatar.
"I know the players have just finished a tough season with their clubs," said Rashid. "But we need to get used to playing under pressure. "Of course, we are not going to overstretch the players and our focus will be on technical and tactical plans, and making sure the players implement it properly on the ground. "We are playing friendly matches against two different schools of football, and it will be a very useful experience for the players."
arizvi@thenational.ae
