The UAE U-23 players have one last chance to impress coach Dr Abullah Misfer when they meet South Korea in their practice game on Monday night.
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The former Al Dhafra supremo will examine the young scarlets at Al Shabab stadium before trimming his preliminary 27-man squad later this week.
The final 23 will then travel to Qatar for the AFC U-23 Championship in Doha from January 12. With the top three of that tournament advancing to the Rio Olympics later this year, plenty is at stake for the youngsters.
Results have been positive so far for The Whites with two straight wins in their warm-ups. Their latest on Friday night was a hard-fought 2-0 triumph over China at Dubai Police Officers Club and Al Nasr defender Hussain Abbas Juma believes his team-mates must remained focused if they want to make it a third consecutive victory.
“South Korea will be a tough game but it won’t have a bad effect on us,” said the 21-year-old. “We just need to stay focused and I’m sure if we work as a team, we can do well. It’s important for the team to have this winning mentality before going to the tournament and I think things are improving.”
He added: “We will just listen to what the coach says before the game and hopefully we will do a pretty good job if we stay focused.”
While Juma hopes to make the final cut, he insists the team can go far in the AFC Championship.
“I think we can do very well in the tournament and I think we are getting better in every game,” he said. The UAE have been drawn in the same group as Jordan and Vietnam, with their opener against Australia slated for January 14.
