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
“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.”
