UAE nationals are backing their “golden boys” through to the Asian Cup final after the team beat defending champions Australia.
Emirati fans believe a mixture of youth and experience is powering the UAE charge as they now face Qatar on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi.
Photographs and video of the goal scored by Ali Mabkhout were shared on social media with Instagram and Twitter posts cheering on an “unstoppable” UAE team to claim a spot in the final.
Pictures of the UAE players hugging each other in celebration and the Australians on their knees, heads bowed in disappointment, were among the most shared visuals after the 1-0 win on Friday night.
Ahmed Al Mesmari watched the game with his family. He believed the strategy and detailed planning of the team would take them through to the finals.
“It is the mixture of players we have like the older players with knowledge and experience and the young blood that is helping them," said Mr Al Mesmari, who works with the event operations team of the Expo 2020 Dubai.
"I was expecting an even better result from our side against Australia. I think we really have a good chance in the semi-finals and finals.”
English teacher Asma Al Zaabi also cheered the team along with her parents and siblings at home in Ras Al Khaimah.
“Our hearts are with them," she said. "It was such an exciting game because Australia were always considered a strong team. We were amazed at the effort of our team. They have practised a lot and planned very well."
The UAE went in as the underdogs in the match against Australia played in Al Ain on Friday.
Social media posts congratulated the team and called the result a “thriller” and “a big win”.
The UAE’s winning ways have converted non-football fans as well.
CrossFit coach Nuha Al Marri was in the gym when her WhatsApp groups and Instagram account began buzzing news of the UAE victory.
“There was so much excitement among my friends and all over social media," she said. "This is all everyone is talking about. I’m not usually interested in football but I will definitely watch the next game. The UAE has reached so far and have a chance to win this."
Brief scores
Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243
RESULT
Norway 1 Spain 1
Norway: King (90 4')
Spain: Niguez (47')
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India Test squad
Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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.
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