KUALA LUMPUR // The Football Association anticipates the UAE national team will emerge stronger from last week’s disappointing defeat to South Korea, as they get set to begin their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign against East Timor on Tuesday.
Mahdi Ali's men were comprehensively beaten in Thursday's friendly at the Shah Alam Stadium in Malaysia, losing 3-0 to a superior Korean side. The match represented their first since they finished third at January's Asian Cup.
The five-month lay-off clearly affected the players, who were uncharacteristically poor in possession and seemed to struggle for fitness following what has been a lengthy domestic season with their clubs.
However, the UAE are expected to bounce back with victory at the same stadium against East Timor, when they get their Group A bid under way. Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Malaysia make up the rest of the pool from which only the team that finishes top are guaranteed a place in the next qualifying round.
The FA is convinced the South Korea match will be beneficial to the UAE's chances against an East Timor team ranked 146th in the world by Fifa, with lessons learnt from Thursday's loss.
“Mahdi Ali now knows specifically what the team needs and what the players need,” said Mohammed Abdulaziz, an FA board member, in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. “The match made it possible to see in which areas the team were weak, while friendly games can always be a little deceptive, as well. South Korea are a very strong opponent.
“The game will have also provided significant motivation for the players to make sure they do not underestimate East Timor, who themselves are not an easy team. It is true that logic says we should win by a big score, but nothing is impossible in football. Their team has more than six naturalised Brazilian-born players.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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