The UAE will look to bring their post-season Swiss training camp to a positive conclusion today with a friendly against Georgia in Meyrin (21:00).
Mahdi Ali’s men also find themselves in the unfamiliar position of trying to bounce back from a loss following their 4-3 defeat to Armenia last week.
That reverse brought to an end the longest unbeaten streak in world football, a superb 20-game sequence that traces all the way back to Mahdi’s first game in charge in September 2012, when they were beaten by Japan.
One man who won’t be involved today is Al Wahda defender Hamdan Al Kamali, who is expected to be out for up to four weeks after picking up an injury in the defeat to the Armenians.
That rare setback is being viewed as anything but a negative in the UAE camp, however, with team manager Mutrif Al Shamsi describing the benefits of the game as“immense”.
The Armenians are ranked 33rd in the world by FIFA – some 34 places above the Whites – and benefitted from a brace scored by Borussia Dortmund star Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The post-season camp and these two friendlies are all part of a carefully- tailored programme designed to prepare the Whites for their dual aims of defending their Gulf Cup crown this November in Saudi Arabia, and challenging for Asian Cup glory in Australia next January.
After such a dominant run againsttheir Gulf rivals and in Asian Cup qualification, the UAE FA have organised some high-profile games against much sterner opposition.
That will include taking on Norway on August 27, Belgium on September 4 and Morocco on September 8, before facing Australia on October 10 and Uzbekistan on October 14.
A further two friendlies will take place on November 4 and 7 against as yet unnamed opponents.
Georgia may well be ranked significantly below the UAE, who were up to 67th in FIFA’s most recent listings, but are likely to prove tricky opposition thanks to their technical ability.
Managed by former Newcastle United midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia, they have several players on the books of top Russian and Ukrainian clubs, such as Spartak Moscow’s Jano Ananidze and Dnipro pair Aleksandre Kobakhidze and Jaba Kankava.
