New UAE manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena has named his first squad ahead of this month's conclusion to the 2022 World Cup qualification group stage.
The Argentine, appointed last month as successor to Bert van Marwijk, provided an extended squad for the qualifying double-header against Iraq in Baghdad on March 24 and South Korea in Dubai five days later.
With two matches remaining, the UAE sit third in Group A and therefore in pole position to secure its play-off spot. Iran and South Korea have already sealed the top two places that guarantee direct entry to the Qatar tournament.
Arruabarrena’s initial 41-man squad features a number of hugely experienced players, with goalkeepers Majed Nasser and Khalid Essa returning to the set-up, alongside veteran attacking midfielder Ismail Matar.
Meanwhile, Ali Mabkhout, the UAE’s all-time leading goalscorer, who missed the two most recent qualifiers, is again available. However, influential forward Fabio De Lima will be absent once more as he continues his recovery from injury.
The final squad will be named following the completion of Round 19 of the Adnoc Pro League on Saturday, with the majority of the group to then gather in Dubai on Monday. Those players selected from Sharjah and Baniyas will join up with the team following their Asian Champions League play-offs early next week. The UAE will train at Al Nasr’s Al Maktoum Stadium before leaving for Baghdad on March 22.
Should the national team finish third in Group A, they would enter a play-off against the third-placed side in Group B – currently Australia – with the winner of that then progressing to the intercontinental play-off for a World Cup berth.
At present, the UAE are three points above Lebanon in fourth, with fifth-placed Iraq one point further back. The national team have only once previously appeared at a World Cup, in 1990.
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