Caio Canedo says he is optimistic about what the future may hold for the UAE despite the disappointment of failing to qualify for this year’s World Cup.
The national team were defeated 2-1 by Australia in Qatar on Tuesday night in their Asian play-off, with the victors moving on to next week face Peru for a place at the global finals.
Australia, bidding for a fifth successive World Cup appearance, kept alive their chances at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan through Ajdin Hrustic’s deflected volley six minutes from time.
The UAE, who were trying to become only the second Emirati side to reach football’s showpiece tournament and first since 1990, had fallen behind on 53 minutes when Jackson Irvine opened the scoring from close range.
However, Canedo levelled the contest four minutes later. To that point, the UAE had created the better opportunities, with young winger Harib Abdallah the standout as he tested Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan three times.
Speaking to The National immediately after the 2-1 loss, Canedo said: “It was a good game. I thought we played well, gave a very good match. It’s play-off games, it’s details; whoever makes less mistakes will win. But I’m proud of the guys, it’s a very young team. We have a lot to improve, but there's a lot to be proud of also.
UAE v Australia player ratings
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UAE RATINGS: Khalid Eisa – 6. No chance with Irvine’s close-range finish, but made a fine stop to deny Maclaren later on, low to his left. Similarly, could not be faulted for Hrustic’s deflected knockout blow. AFP -
Walid Abbas – 7. The UAE captain had minimal traffic coming his way because Australia spent much of the game trying to find a solution to the attacking threat of Harib Abdallah in front of him. Getty -
Khalifa Al Hammadi – 6. Followed a stretching early clearance with a foul on the edge of the box in a nervy start, but put his body on the line to try to keep the Aussies out. AFP -
Mohammed Al Attas – 7. Made one vital intervention when Maclaren, the substitute, was poised to score. Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Khalid Al Dhanhani – 7. Did well twice in the same play to limit the damage of a loose pass by Mabkhout in the first half. Tenacious throughout. EPA -
Ali Salmeen – 5. Lucky to escape a booking after a late clip on Mooy. Allowed Boyle to wriggle away from him to create the opening goal. Could not block Hrustic’s blazing shot for the winner. AP -
Abdullah Hamad – 7. A bundle of energy throughout despite the sapping conditions. Photo: UAE FA -
Abdullah Ramadan – 6. Botched a good attacking chance when he blazed a free-kick from the right flank nowhere near his attackers. Needed to get on the ball more and look to find Abdallah. AP -
Harib Abdallah – 9. Sensational performance. UAE’s hero in their last game against South Korea was played wide left this time, and his pace made him the game’s most potent threat. Brilliant assist for Canedo’s goal. EPA -
Caio Canedo – 7. So clearly motivated, and dragged his side back into the game almost immediately after Jackson Irvine opened the scoring. Getty -
Ali Mabkhout – 4. Way off the pace. Isolated. Lax in possession. Booked for a clumsy foul. So disappointing from UAE’s greatest scorer on his return to the side. Getty -
SUBS: Ali Saleh (Mabkhout 75’) – NA. Immediately made his presence felt with a tenuous-looking foul on Behic; Yahya Nader (Ramadan 75’) – NA. Had few chances to impress after coming on in the second phase. AFP -
Omar Abdulrahman (Hamad 88’) – NA. Found the ball in space three times despite only having a tiny amount of time to make a difference, but each time his passes were painfully errant; Sebastian Tagliabue (Candeo 88’) – NA. Won a flick on as UAE chased the game in the dying moments, but that was the extent of it; Majed Hassan (Salmeen 88’) – NA. Looked fresher than anyone, but had minimal chance to make an impression as part of the late treble substitution. AFP -
AUSTRALIA RATINGS: Mathew Ryan – 7. Australia’s captain twice made close-range blocks from Abdallah, then made another from the same player low down at the start of the second half. AFP -
Nathaniel Atkinson – 5. The right back was defenceless against the speed of Harib Abdallah. EPA -
Kye Rowles – 6. The Hearts defender had arguably the best attacking chance of the first half, but the ball slipped off his forehead and away as he aimed a header at goal. EPA -
Bailey Wright – 7. The Sunderland centre back was ever willing to put his head where it could potentially hurt. Getty -
Aziz Behich – 7. Given the temperature, his willingness to race up and down the left touchline was highly commendable. AFP -
Aaron Mooy – 6. Deployed in a deep-lying midfield playmaker role. Too often contented himself with unambitious, lateral passes. EPA -
Ajdin Hrustic – 8. The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder posed a threat with his crisp left-footed crossing, and went close with a curled shot from range. Booked for unnecessary roughness. Then decided it with a blockbusting volley. Getty -
Jackson Irvine – 7. One of the players who broke UAE’s hearts in Sydney four years ago, looked to have done the same here when he opened the scoring from close range. Lost Canedo for the equaliser moments later. Getty -
Martin Boyle – 8. Prominent in the early throes down the right flank, notably with a slaloming dribble, and played the vital role in setting up Irvine for the opener. AP -
Craig Goodwin – 5. Wasted a fine attacking opportunity in the first half when he badly over-hit his left-footed cross. His miss with a half volley in the second half was worse. Getty -
Mathew Leckie – 6. Needed to pick a more meaningful pass on one of the few chances he had to make difference. Huffed and puffed the rest of the time. AFP -
SUBS: Jamie Maclaren (Goodwin 72’) – NA. Introduced with just under 20 minutes to go, and twice found himself dangerously placed, only to be denied by Al Attas then Eisa. Getty -
Milos Degenek (90'+1 Hrustic) – NA. A late introduction to chew up time and close up space with Australia holding the lead. AFP -
Awer Mabil (Leckie 90'+1) – NA. Given just moments at the end as Graham Arnold looked to shut up shop. Getty
“We tried to represent the UAE to the fullest. We were so close, the feeling is we deserved a little bit more. But congrats to Australia – it is what it is. Like I said, I’m very proud of the young boys. They played a fantastic game.”
At full-time on Tuesday, several of the UAE players were reduced to tears, Abdallah chief among them.
“[The dressing room] is like a funeral," Canedo said. "Nobody‘s happy, you see a lot of the young boys crying. We deserved a little more. We started slow, but then we created good chances. We responded well to going behind, but we couldn't the second time – it was a little too late.
“But we have to put our heads up, for the UAE fans, the UAE people, that’s our biggest thing. Belief can stay with us because I’m pretty sure we’ve a lot to give.”
The UAE began the clash against Australia with a number of players experiencing a match of such significance for the first time. At 19, and in only his second international start, Abdallah carried much of his side's attacking threat.
Three of the other first XI were aged 24 and under, with Ali Saleh (22) and Yahia Nader (24) late substitutes. Meanwhile, manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena was taking charge of the team for a third competitive match having succeeded Bert van Marwijk in February.
With World Cup hopes over, the UAE will next contest the Arabian Gulf Cup in Iraq in January – they are two-time winners, in 2007 and 2013 – with the Asian Cup to come next summer. Arruabarrena’s contract runs through until then.
Asked to look past Tuesday’s frustration, Canedo said: “I’m very optimistic. We still have some tournaments coming up – end of December, January – so we have to put our heads up.
“The coach has been doing a fantastic job trying to mix experience with the young players. Harib is an amazing player, he’s only 19. We have some other players also – Yahya Al Ghassani (24), Ali Saleh – these are very talented boys. We can do a lot of damage.
“But it takes time, experience. But it hurts. We were so close. As I said, the feeling is like a funeral. Everyone is devastated, because we believed so much.”
