Mahdi unhappy UAE grouped with Gulf rivals

David Cooper - Writer 21:46 26/03/2014
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Draw time: AFC General Secretary Dato' Alex Soosay holds up the name of UAE.

    UAE national team coach Mahdi Ali is disappointed so many nations from the Gulf have been drawn against each other in the Asia Cup 2015 group stage, but insists it will not detract from The Whites’ ambition of reaching the last-four.

    The Asia Cup draw took place in Sydney on Wednesday and the UAE were placed in Group C alongside Iran, Qatar, and Bahrain.

    The UAE defeated both Qatar and Bahrain in the group stage of the 2013 Gulf Cup of Nations on the way to the title, while number one ranked Asian nation Iran, who will participate in the 2014 World Cup, will pose a strong test for Mahdi’s men.

    Talking in Sydney following the draw, Mahdi believed it was a shame three Gulf nations were grouped together and therefore fewer would be representing this region in the knockout stages.

    “I did not wish to have three [Gulf Cup] nations in the same group to give more chances for them to qualify,” Mahdi said. “A small competition reflecting the big one in Asia.”

    The UAE are currently ranked fifth in Asia – 61st in the world – and are hotly tipped to make a big impact at next year’s tournament.

    The excitement surrounding the Whites is in no small part due to their stunning form in the past 18 months; remaining unbeaten in 20 matches and qualifying for the Asia Cup top of their group with five wins and a draw.

    “We have already announced we want to be in the best four teams in Asia and I hope we achieve our goal. We wish to qualify to the semi final,” Mahdi stated.

    “I think that the UAE have spent a lot of planning for this generation,” he added. “I think we have a good generation who have played many tournaments.”

    While Mahdi has set his team a target of reaching the last-four, group rivals Qatar are aiming for nothing less than the title.

    “We don’t have any limits; we are here to win the tournament simple as that,” Qatar coach Djamel Belmadi said. “I hope we will be strong enough and good enough and believe in ourselves to go as far as possible.”

    Meanwhile Iran coach Carlos Queiroz believes his team’s World Cup campaign will prove invaluable when they arrive in Australia next year.

    “Football is all about pressure, and pressure to win the next game,” the former Real Madrid manager said. “I’m sure that after the World Cup the team can have a lift with the preparation and the experience, they will be more strong when they start the Asian competition.”

    While Qatar, the UAE, and Iran have specific goals to reach the latter stages of the tournament, Bahrain boss Anthony Hudson is remaining more pragmatic, although the Englishman does believe his side can go far.

    “We're going to quietly do what we're doing. We're building our team. We're going to be optimistic and [try] to cause an upset and do something special,” Hudson said.

    “We're not going to scream and shout too loud but we're going to work hard and prepare. We've certainly come here to go very far.

    “I think it's a good group and I think we've missed two or three of the big teams were familiar with. We're happy.”

    FULL DRAW:

    Group A
    Korea Republic
    Australia
    Oman
    Kuwait

    Group B
    Saudi Arabia
    China PR
    DPR Korea
    Uzbekistan

    Group C
    UAE
    Qatar
    Bahrain
    Iran

    Group D
    Jordan
    Iraq
    Japan
    AFC Challenge Cup winners

    Recommended