UAE hopeful Mohamed says second-string stars have plenty to offer for World Cup bid

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  • High hopes: Manei Mohamed.

    An experimental selection lost both games at the season-ending tournament, with a 3-1 reversal to Jordan coming on Friday and 1-0 loss to Syria in the third-place play-off following on Sunday.

    But for Al Shabab full-back Mohamed, who earned his first caps during the last week in Thailand, enough had been shown by the Under-23 prospects and uninitiated seniors to boost squad depth ahead of September’s resumption of competitive play.

    The 26-year-old said: “The game (against Syria) was useful for some of the players and most of the group was playing their first international match and it was difficult to play two matches in three days.

    “But the purpose of this tournament was to help the coach to see the largest number of players so he can select the team and take advantage of them in the coming World Cup 2018 qualifiers.

    “And I hope that the coach will choose the best players who can benefit the team in the future.

    “We are all under the leadership of the coach at any time and we are ready all the time.”

    A nervous wait now lies in store for the reserves to see whether they will be chosen to join up with the regular picks for the month-long training camp in Spain, which begins in mid-July.

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