Mahdi Ali, the UAE coach, has said he is “optimistic and positive” of his team’s chances in the crucial 2018 World Cup qualifiers in March after orchestrating a friendly win over Iceland in Dubai.
The UAE take on Palestine on March 24 followed by Saudi Arabia five days later knowing victories in both will send them through to the final qualifying stage for Russia 2018.
Mahdi Ali’s men warmed up those encounters in fine fashion, producing a deserved 2-1 win over Iceland, who made history by becoming the smallest nation by population to qualify for a European Championship when they secured their place at Euro 2016.
The team fielded by Iceland coach Lars Lagerback at Al Nasr’s Al Maktoum Stadium was certainly an experimental one, but the victory has nonetheless given Mahdi Ali plenty of encouragement ahead of the World Cup qualifying double-header.
Match report: UAE warm up for World Cup qualifiers with friendly win over Iceland
“I’m very happy with the performance of the team especially as they played against a very strong team,” Mahdi Ali said. “I am very happy for the return of some players who didn’t play with us for a long time like Ahmad Ali and Hamdan Al Kamali, and I’m also very happy for Khamis Esmail and Amer Abdulrahman. They have not played for their clubs for so many days, maybe more than one month, but they did very well today and I’m happy for them.
“It was a good chance for us to see how ready they are for upcoming games and I hope this win will give them more confidence for our future games in March.”
Despite the postivie result, Mahdi Ali will not allow his players to rest on their laurels, although the national team manager is confident of the UAE’s chances.
“I am always optimistic and positive, but we have to work very hard,” he said. “We are very keenly awaiting these two games.
“It’s good they are both at home but we have to focus on the first game because that is the key for the next game.
“Of course, I have to be positive and optimistic for the future as that’s my job and that’s the difference between the coach and everybody else. I have confidence in my team and players and hope they will do well in the next game.”
Ahmed Khalil, the Al Ahli striker and reigning Asian Player of the Year, echoed his coach’s sentiments by urging his UAE teammates to not let their levels drop ahead of the next two qualifiers.
“We played good and this is important for the two next games,” Khalil, 24, said. “We need to work more and to focus more; this is very important for our next match. The match was good, to see how is the player, how is the team. Everything is good, but we have to continue.
“From now until that time, we have to continue, we have to focus, we have to work more and we will do a good point in next coming matches.”
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