Mahdi Ali’s young UAE side beaten by Jordan at King’s Cup opener

Emirates team, led by Hamdan Al Kamali, lose to Jordan 3-1 in Thailand, reports John McAuley.

UAE 1

Al Shamsi 45’

Jordan 3

Abdulrahman (pen) 8’, Al Dardour 50’, Khairullah 68’

The UAE opened their King’s Cup campaign on Friday with a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Jordan at the Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

A largely experimental side, captained by the returning Hamdan Al Kamali, suffered an early setback when the Al Wahda defender handled inside the penalty area in the seventh minute. Baha Abdulrahman coolly converted from the spot to give Jordan a 1-0 lead.

The UAE drew level right on half time, with Al Jazira’s Sultan Al Shamsi curling an unstoppable shot from outside the Jordan area and high into the net.

However, Jordan were back in front five minutes into the second half, after a mix-up in defence between Manei Mohammed and Salem Sultan allowed Hamza Al Dardour to slot past Ahmed Shambieh in the UAE goal.

The UAE were then caught napping on 68 minutes, when Jordan’s Mohannad Khairullah tapped home a cross following a quickly worked short corner.

Mahdi Ali’s men next play either Thailand or Syria in Sunday’s play-off for third place. Those two sides meet in their semi-final later Friday, at the same venue.​

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