Monday, Jun 02, 2014
Dubai: Al Wahda defender Hamdan Al Kamali is an injury doubt ahead of the UAE’s friendly against Georgia in Switzerland (from 9pm UAE time) on Tuesday after picking up a knock in last Tuesday’s 4-3 defeat to Armenia.
The Armenia loss, which was the first of nine friendlies scheduled for the UAE team in preparation for November’s Gulf Cup and January’s Asian Cup, ended a 20-match unbeaten run for the World No 67 ranked Whites who had last lost under coach Mahdi Ali in his first game in charge in September 2012.
Al Kamali — who is expected to be sidelined for up to four weeks — said that despite the defeat his teammates would bounce back against Georgia, who are 36 positions below the UAE in the Fifa world rankings.
“Friendly matches are useful for us regardless of the outcome of the match,” he said. “We now know about the negative aspects that have been monitored by the coaching staff, in addition to promoting the positive aspects.
“Consequently, this change will give us motivation for the next games, whether formal or friendly, as the ambitions are always great and we look forward to more progress in the world rankings.”
UAE team manager Mutrif Al Shamsi shared Al Kamali’s sentiments about the team’s need to push on from their loss to Armenia, who are ranked 34 positions above the UAE. “Despite the defeat against Armenia, the benefits were immense, notably as we tried many young players and debutants in order to gain more experience and exposure,” he said.
Three goals were scored inside five minutes just before the interval, with Esmail Ahmad cancelling out Levon Hayrapetan’s opener only for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to restore advantage. Omar Abdul Rahman then equalised after the break but Mkhitaryan again put Armenia back in control after the hour and Rumyan Hovsepyan added a fourth before a late consolation goal from Mohannad Salem.
“The Armenians played a big game and their speedy players have perfectly executed the counter-attacks. We could have achieved a better result had the players managed to capitalise on the opportunities that came their way,” Al Shamsi said.
“Such friendlies are useful for the head coach and his assistants to work on every single negative or positive point that they record to improve the weak points and develop the good ones. We are confident that our players deserve all confidence to bounce back to show their best in the Georgia test.”
Next up, the UAE play Norway on August 27, Belgium on September 4 and Morocco on September 8, before taking on Australia on October 10 and Uzbekistan on October 14. A further two friendlies will take place on November 4 and 7 against as yet unknown opposition.
Despite the defeat to Armenia, coach Ali’s win record still stands at 81 per cent with 18 wins, two draws and two defeats from 22 games in charge.
By Ashley Hammond Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2014. All rights reserved.
