Ali Mabkhout says the UAE will fight to give everything to realise their faint World Cup dream after scoring what he believes to be his best goal for the national team in Tuesday’s remarkable victory against Saudi Arabia.
The Al Jazira striker, the lead marksman in last season's Arabian Gulf League, helped Edgardo Bauza's side come from behind at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium to seal a 2-1 win – a first triumph against the Saudis since 2007.
Mabkhout equalised for the UAE - an exquisite touch and finish - immediately following Nawaf Al Abed’s first-half penalty had given the visitors the lead. Ahmed Khalil then completed the turnaround with his own finely taken goal just before the hour.
The result means the UAE keep alive their slim hopes of making next summer’s World Cup. They remain fourth in Group B, three points off both Australia in third and the second-placed Saudis, although the former host leaders Japan on Thursday.
To retain any chance of reaching Russia, the UAE must defeat Iraq in their campaign finale in Jordan next Tuesday, while hoping for other results to go their way and for a significant swing in goal difference. Only top two teams qualify, while the third-placed side enter a series of play-offs.
Mabkhout, who misses the match in Amman through suspension, said the UAE are determined to give the World Cup bid one final push.
“We still have a chance,” he said. “It’s little, it’s not too much, but we will fight for this chance. We will give everything for it. The win means a lot for us, it’s good to get back to winning ways and we’ll do our best for the future. But we are sorry for the Saudi Arabia national team.”
Asked why he did not overly celebrate his goal, Mabkhout said: “This game is not a final and we’re not in a good way. We’re in a bad way, but a good way is coming. For me, it’s the best I’ve scored and I’m happy for it.”
Teammate Habib Fardan echoed Mabkhout’s rallying call. The midfielder was introduced in the 77th minute on Tuesday and played an integral role in his side seeing out the victory.
“Of course, it’s a good win for us,” Fardan said. “Because now all the UAE fans have hope in qualification after they were so upset. It will give us a good motivation for the next game and for all the UAE fans and all the players to give more and more.
“We're looking for the future and now we’ll try to do our best in the next game. Maybe we have a chance, maybe not, but we will give our best and after we'll see what happens.
“Nothing is impossible in football. We can see when Barcelona won 6-1 against Paris Saint-Germain [in last season's Uefa Champions League]. To be honest, it’s not easy. It’s hard. But nothing is impossible.
“We’ll try to win, we’ll try to also score many goals and in the end it’s not about us only. We have to wait for other results. We’ll do our best and if there’s a chance we hope we get it."
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
Grand Slam Los Angeles results
Men:
56kg – Jorge Nakamura
62kg – Joao Gabriel de Sousa
69kg – Gianni Grippo
77kg – Caio Soares
85kg – Manuel Ribamar
94kg – Gustavo Batista
110kg – Erberth Santos
Women:
49kg – Mayssa Bastos
55kg – Nathalie Ribeiro
62kg – Gabrielle McComb
70kg – Thamara Silva
90kg – Gabrieli Pessanha
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
THE LOWDOWN
Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
