UAE 4
Mabkhout 13’, 47’, Khalil 38’, T Ahmed 70’
Laos 0
Edgardo Bauza got his UAE side reign off to a winning start on Wednesday, with a 4-0 victory in the friendly against Laos in Kuala Lumpur.
The national team, preparing for next week’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Thailand, won comfortably at the Shah Alam Stadium, as was expected against a side ranked 97 places below them by Fifa.
Striker Ali Mabkhout transferred his stellar club form to the international stage, the Al Jazira forward opening the scoring on 13 minutes and later grabbing a second. It was Ahmed Khalil who doubled his side’s advantage, though, the Al Ahli frontman finding the net seven minutes before half time.
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Mabkhout got the third not long after the break, with debutant Tariq Ahmed, a second-half substitute, adding a fourth in the 70th minute.
The match marked Bauza’s first in charge after the Argentine was installed last month as Mahdi Ali’s successor. The former Argentina national team manager fielded a largely familiar side, with Majed Naser preferred to Khalid Essa in goal and Hamdan Al Kamali replacing the injured Ismail Ahmed in central defence. Naser captained the team.
While the victory was welcome, the real test for the UAE comes next Tuesday, when they take on Thailand in Bangkok. Bauza’s side are fourth in Group B in the final stage of qualification to reach Russia next summer with only three matches remaining.
The UAE sit seven points off the two automatic qualification spots and four back from Australia in third – the position that secures entry into a series of play-offs. Australia host joint-leaders Saudi Arabia in Adelaide on Thursday. The UAE, meanwhile, leave Malaysia for Bangkok that same day.
After bottom-side Thailand, the UAE face Saudi Arabia in Abu Dhabi on August 29 before potentially bringing to a close their campaign with an away match against fifth-placed Iraq one week later. The UAE are aiming to qualify for the World Cup for only the second time in their history having debuted at the tournament in 1990.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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