UAE ten, Malaysia nil. 10-0. Double figures to kick-start this World Cup qualifying double-header.
If the UAE have targeted six points from the twin test – Palestine lie in wait on Tuesday - then three arrived with minimum fuss and maximum fizz. Malaysia were meek; their opponents made hay.
Currently, 98 places separate these two sides in Fifa’s global rankings, but on Thursday night at a balmy Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, they were clearly worlds apart.
It was 7-0 by half time: Mohanad Salem opened the scoring, Ali Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil each struck twice, Habib Fardan and Mohammed Ahmed notched one apiece. Five of those came in a hurricane 11-minute spell.
Three more were rolled along in the second half; one each for the three goalkeepers Malaysia used on the night. Khalil secured his hat-trick then added a personal fourth, sandwiched between another fine Mabkhout strike.
Put plainly, this was the UAE’s golden generation displaying its Midas touch.
“I’m very happy with the performance, the goals and the result, especially after the long summer,” said Mahdi Ali, the UAE coach, with typical understatement. “We carried out our strategy well and won the match because we showed our opponents a lot of respect.
“Now we move on to Palestine. Today is finished, we go to the next challenge, the next step.”
Yet they should be allowed to dwell on a dazzling display, however briefly. This was as close to perfect as the UAE senior national team have come during Mahdi Ali’s tenure - two goals shy of the country’s record victory against Brunei in 2001, back when the present side only dreamed of international caps and World Cups.
Two matches into their Group A campaign, the UAE have collected six points. The East Timor tie was won in June, but it was slow and sluggish. Against Malaysia, it was simply scintillating.
It is just a shame that so few fans came out to witness the whirlwind. If they did, perhaps the sparsely populated capital ground would have reverberated to “can we play you every week?”
That may be a tad unfair on the Malaysians, who spent the majority of the 90 minutes dazed and punch-drunk. They concluded the match, in the words of their shell-shocked coach, limp and leaderless.
“I don’t know what happened tonight,” said Dollah Saleh in the immediate aftermath, as he visibly struggled for words. “We gave away cheap goals, then everything collapsed. The UAE played fantastic football - especially Omar Abdulrahman, a super player. He kills everyone. Overall, I just don’t know what to say.”
For the UAE, their actions carried more weight than any post-match comment. Abdulrahman was at his inventive best, assisting six of his side’s 10 goals. His namesake, Amer Abdulrahman, created three of the others.
Mabkhout and Khalil were clinical; Fardan and Majed Hassan industrious, even when the match reverted to little more than a training exercise. Flicks fell to teammates; tricks bamboozled weary opponents.
“I was happy for Omar,” Mahdi Ali said. “But this is a team effort. Everyone contributes.”
The collective will certainly be required on Tuesday, when the group’s new top team travel to Palestine and attempt to make it three wins from three. Their upcoming hosts will be no pushovers, though. Palestine defeated Malaysia 6-0 in their most recent qualifier, underlining that they too should have something to say in a pool that initially represented a straight scrap between the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
“Palestine is a different challenge, so we have to concentrate fully on that,” Mahdi Ali said. “It is the first official match for them in their own country, so that will provide them extra motivation. We need to be 100 per cent prepared for it.”
[ jmcauley@thenational.ae ]
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @NatSportUAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
Look Both Ways
Director: Wanuri Kahiu
Stars: Lili Reinhart, Danny Ramirez, David Corenswet, Luke Wilson, Nia Long
Rating: 3/5
ANDROID VERSION NAMES, IN ORDER
Android Alpha
Android Beta
Android Cupcake
Android Donut
Android Eclair
Android Froyo
Android Gingerbread
Android Honeycomb
Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Android Jelly Bean
Android KitKat
Android Lollipop
Android Marshmallow
Android Nougat
Android Oreo
Android Pie
Android 10 (Quince Tart*)
Android 11 (Red Velvet Cake*)
Android 12 (Snow Cone*)
Android 13 (Tiramisu*)
Android 14 (Upside Down Cake*)
Android 15 (Vanilla Ice Cream*)
* internal codenames
The specs
Powertrain: Single electric motor
Power: 201hp
Torque: 310Nm
Transmission: Single-speed auto
Battery: 53kWh lithium-ion battery pack (GS base model); 70kWh battery pack (GF)
Touring range: 350km (GS); 480km (GF)
Price: From Dh129,900 (GS); Dh149,000 (GF)
On sale: Now
25-MAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina, Abdullahi Shehu, Chidozie Awaziem, William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Jamilu Collins, Semi Ajayi
Midfielders: John Obi Mikel, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, John Ogu
Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, Odion Ighalo, Alexander Iwobi, Samuel Kalu, Paul Onuachu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze
On Standby: Theophilus Afelokhai, Bryan Idowu, Ikouwem Utin, Mikel Agu, Junior Ajayi, Valentine Ozornwafor
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Revibe
Started: 2022
Founders: Hamza Iraqui and Abdessamad Ben Zakour
Based: UAE
Industry: Refurbished electronics
Funds raised so far: $10m
Investors: Flat6Labs, Resonance and various others
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
