CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA // From the moment the Asian Cup draw was made, the UAE's opening match against Qatar had the look of a knockout match.
A formidable Iran always looked favourites to progress, while the past two winners of the Gulf Cup of Nations would expect to beat Bahrain.
The UAE’s emphatic 4-1 win over Qatar on Sunday put them in an excellent position ahead of the Thursday match against Bahrain, and it left a demoralised Qatar on the brink of elimination should they not beat Iran.
Kick-off is at 11am, UAE time.
On current form, the Emiratis should fear no one. Some fans will find themselves tempted to look ahead to the last group match.
The players are unlikely to face the same temptation.
Mahdi Ali and his staff have spent the past few days readying them and ensuring they do not look ahead. Having accomplished the presumably difficult job against Qatar, the last thing the team expects or needs is to drop points to Bahrain, leaving them needing points against Iran to qualify.
Manager and players have erred on the side of caution, as expected, and there is no doubt this is a grounded squad that will offer Bahrain as much respect as Qatar and Iran.
A UAE victory will secure progress to the quarter-finals if Qatar do not beat Iran. Worrying about finishing top of Group C, and progress beyond that, will have to wait until next week, after the team shifts its base to Brisbane ahead of the Iran match.
“We don’t want to talk about quarter-final or semi-final or whatever,” Mahdi Ali said. “All our focus is on this match. There are no easy games in football and we hope that the team perform even better than what we did against Qatar.”
Despite the disclaimers, Mahdi Ali and his aides must surely acknowledge privately that this is a golden opportunity to achieve what the coach had called the first objective of the tournament: qualifying to the last eight. Anything near the standards reached against Qatar will almost certainly see Bahrain beaten.
A healthy goal difference, too, could see the UAE going into their last group match against Iran knowing that a draw could win them the group and likely allow them to avoid holders Japan in the quarter-finals. Only then, perhaps, can UAE fans really start to dream of glory.
For now, the conditions cannot be better for this team. This is no time to slip up.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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