©khaleejtimes.com DUBAI — The UAE senior national team take on Lebanon in the second round of the ongoing 2014 World Cup Qualifiers at the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon today. The match is scheduled to kick off at 6pm UAE time.
According to observers, it is a must win encounter for the boys in white following their sad 2-3 home defeat at the hands of Gulf rivals Kuwait on Friday.
But, the hosts are by no reason in a better position than their visitors. Lebanon were hammered 6-0 by the Asian giants South Korea in Seol last Friday.
And given this very fact, both UAE and Lebanon are at crossroads which makes it a do-or-die clash for the deeply wounded opponents.
The UAE carried out two training sessions at the match venue, the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, under the supervision of the Slovenian coach and the watchful eye of the country’s football boss Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi who headed the delegation to Lebanon.
The immediate concern of the administrative and technical staff was to relief the players from the aftermath of the shock defeat and to work on the weak points in the three lines of the squad.
But, the worse was still to come when the x-rays revealed that Hamdan Al Kamali sustained a serious fracture in the face and should skip even the Olympic national team crucial away game against Australia in the 2012 London Games Qualifiers.
The UAE left winger Ali Al Weihibi was also injured in the first work out and won’t be able to show.
However, Katanech has no much choice and will most likely substitute Al Kamali’s absence with Al Ain’s defender Musallam Faiz to play besides Waleed Abbas while Khaled Sabeel and Yousuf Jaber would be deployed on the flanks.
In midfield, Subait Khater and Amer Abdul Rahman might be aided by Mohammed Al Shehhi and Hassan Amin while Ahmed Khalil and Ismail Al Hammadi will lead the charge upfront.
According to observers, it is a must win encounter for the boys in white following their sad 2-3 home defeat at the hands of Gulf rivals Kuwait on Friday.
But, the hosts are by no reason in a better position than their visitors. Lebanon were hammered 6-0 by the Asian giants South Korea in Seol last Friday.
And given this very fact, both UAE and Lebanon are at crossroads which makes it a do-or-die clash for the deeply wounded opponents.
The UAE carried out two training sessions at the match venue, the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, under the supervision of the Slovenian coach and the watchful eye of the country’s football boss Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi who headed the delegation to Lebanon.
The immediate concern of the administrative and technical staff was to relief the players from the aftermath of the shock defeat and to work on the weak points in the three lines of the squad.
But, the worse was still to come when the x-rays revealed that Hamdan Al Kamali sustained a serious fracture in the face and should skip even the Olympic national team crucial away game against Australia in the 2012 London Games Qualifiers.
The UAE left winger Ali Al Weihibi was also injured in the first work out and won’t be able to show.
However, Katanech has no much choice and will most likely substitute Al Kamali’s absence with Al Ain’s defender Musallam Faiz to play besides Waleed Abbas while Khaled Sabeel and Yousuf Jaber would be deployed on the flanks.
In midfield, Subait Khater and Amer Abdul Rahman might be aided by Mohammed Al Shehhi and Hassan Amin while Ahmed Khalil and Ismail Al Hammadi will lead the charge upfront.
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on Monday, September 5, 2011
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