Emirati Fawaz Awana talks form, 2018 World Cup

Fawaz Awana speaks to Omar Al Raisi about his form and ambitions to play regularly for the UAE, as well as the country's chances of featuring at the 2018 World Cup.

The Bainyas winger's club are currently sixth in the Arabian Gulf League with 11 points from seven matches and Awana himself has played in 10 matches across all competitions for the club, scoring once.

Managerial help

“My good performances this season are because of the confidence shown by my manager, Jorge Da Silva, he was the motivated me to improve. Also I have not forgotten my former coach, Gabriel Calderon, who rediscovered me when I was performing badly, and the support I had from my administrative and technical team has been amazing.”

Ambition

“Any Emirati player will tell you that they want to wear the UAE shirt and play for the national team. This is my main goal now.”

Golden generation

"This groups of players are the golden generation of UAE. Who knows, if Mahdi Ali was put in charge earlier, maybe we had a chance [of qualifying] for the Brazil World Cup."

2018 aspirations

"We are capable of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, commitment and discipline are the secret of the success of this team."

Goalkeeper verdict

On who is the UAE’s No 1 between Majed Nasser and Ali Khasief, he said: “I think Nasser and Khasief are both brilliant goal keepers, I honestly can’t say which is better, it’s very difficult.”

On the Under 17s

Looking back at the UAE’s efforts at the U17 World Cup last month, held in the UAE, Awana, said: “I think it was an opportunity to participate and represent UAE in a major international competition, but I do not know what the circumstances in which the team lost were. We hope it will be a good experience for these young players.”