Tuesday, Aug 06, 2013
Dubai: The UAE beach soccer team has lined up friendlies against multiple world champions Brazil and Paraguay as part of their preparations for the 2013 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup to be staged in Tahiti next month.
The UAE qualified for their fourth Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup in January alongside Iran and Japan. The UAE has been grouped alongside Spain, US and hosts Tahiti in Group A when the competition kicks off on September 19.
Both warm-up matches will be played in Tahiti, with the UAE taking on Paraguay on September 12 and then facing 13-time world champions Brazil on August 14.
“The friendly matches will be the last two important tests for the players to show what they are capable of during the actual competition,” UAE national team coach Marcelo Mendes told Gulf News.
Brazil have been drawn in Group C alongside Asian champions Iran, Senegal and Ukraine, while defending world champions Russia - 12-8 winners against Brazil in the 2011 final - are up against Japan, Uruguay and Ivory Coast in Group D.
Meanwhile, the UAE squad have been training daily at Al Mamzar Beach preparing for the World Cup. Next week, the team are scheduled to travel to Hungary to participate in a training camp-cum-friendly tournament which also involves Germany, Ukraine and hosts Hungary.
“By far this will be the most important tournament for the team. We need to have one final look at what the players are capable of delivering before we commence our campaign in Tahiti,” Mendes said.
The UAE have been a successful outfit in beach soccer after qualifying for the Fifa World Cup for the fourth time. They were crowned Asian champions in 2007 and 2008 and then played a third time as hosts.
During their past three appearances, the UAE are yet to advance to the knockout stages. The closest they came was in Dubai in 2009 when they beat the Solomon Islands and gave European champions Portugal a fright.
Mendes now believes his team are capable of advancing to the knockout stages of the World Cup next month. “We have the depth in this team as it is a mix between youth and experience. Hopefully, we will be able to reach our full potential in the next few weeks,” he added.
By Alaric Gomes Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
