The UAE will look to take advantage of an injury-ravaged South Korea on Thursday as they eye a morale-boosting victory ahead of their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign which begins on Tuesday.
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The Whites play their first game in nearly five months in Kuala Lumpur against South Korea (KO 13:20 UAE time), the friendly against Uli Stielike’s Taeguk Warriors the first of a double-header in Malaysia. The game will serve as a welcome warm-up ahead of their first World Cup qualifier against Timor Leste.
The UAE have apparently been in Malaysia since last Friday! Their first qualifier against Timor Leste will also be at the SSA, on 16th June.
— Darren Goon (@Box_to_Box) June 10, 2015
The Whites will take on the Asian Cup finalists at the KLFA Stadium, before starting on the road to what they hope will be only their second World Cup appearance against the Rising Sun in five days’ time. That game against the team ranked 146 in the FIFA rankings, exactly 73 below the 73rd ranked UAE, will be played at Stadium Shah Alam in Selangor, Malaysia, after Timor Leste’s facilities were deemed not up to scratch.
Mahdi Ali’s men have not played since January 30, a 3-2 win over Iraq securing a superb third place at the Asian Cup in Australia.
Ali will be able to call upon the services of Asian Cup heroes Ali Mabkhout, who was top scorer Down Under with five goals, and talisman Omar Abdulrahman. Al Jazira goalkeeper Ali Khaseif and Al Ain centre-back Fares Juma both pulled out because of military service, while Al Ahli goalkeeper Ahmed Dida has withdrawn for personal reasons.
For Korea, Swansea City’s Ki Sung-yueng could feature, although the midfielder is recovering from surgery on his knee. Seongnam defender Lim Chaimin (foot) and Jeonbuk Motors’ Kim Kee-hee (heel) are also unavailable through injury.
Head coach Stielike must also make do without Mainz’s Koo Ja-cheol, Augsburg’s Ji Dong-won and Wigan Athletic’s Kim Bo-kyung, as the quartet are undergoing military service.
In addition to Timor Leste, the Whites face old foes Saudi Arabia in Group A, as well as Malaysia and Palestine. They will play the latter two, home and away respectively, in a double-header in September.
The games against the Green Falcons are likely to prove key to the UAE’s World Cup prospects, the
