ABU DHABI // Omar Abdulrahman, the hero of the Olympic team's win over Australia last night, said his goal was a gift for his friend and teammate Mohammed Fawzi, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday.
"I told him before the game I will gift him with a goal on his birthday," the Al Ain midfielder said. "I can celebrate with him tonight."
Abdulrahman missed most of the season after undergoing knee surgery and played his first full game against Emirates in the Etisalat Cup on February 3. Last night's match was only the second of his comeback.
"I was very happy to return to the Olympic team and it was a very important game. We still have a game against Uzbekistan which will decide who tops the group and earn a direct passage, and I hope it will be us."
Fawzi came on as the first of the three substitutes made in the second half by Mahdi Ali, the coach.
"We will celebrate this win with the whole team but we will have to get back to work from the next morning because our job is not yet finished," the Baniyas midfielder said.
The UAE's final group match is against Uzbekistan in Tashkent and Fawzi said: "It is very important we keep our focus on this game because we want to finish top of the group to earn a direct qualification to London.
"We are now guaranteed a second-place finish after this result and that puts us through to the play-off with the three second-placed teams, but that's not what we would be aiming for, now that we hold the advantage."
Fawzi also had a lot of praise for the crowd that filled in the Mohammed bin Zayed stadium.
"The fans really gave us, the players, a massive lift," he said.
Ali, meanwhile, was full of praise for Abdulrahman and said he had told the player that he was the key man in the team.
"He played five matches before the game but only one of 90 minutes. I think he did a very good job today," he said.
"The goal was brilliant and we are glad that we had him.
"At the beginning for the game it was a bit difficult for him because he was under pressure after all that time away, but at the end he was fantastic and I'm very happy for him."
