Fardan confident UAE will cope without Mabkhout

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  • Injury doubt: Mabkhout (R).

    The UAE’s rout of Bangladesh proved they have the firepower to cope with the loss of leading marksman Ali Mabkhout, according to midfielder Habib Fardan.

    Mabkhout, 25, was in Europe on Friday, receiving treatment on a worrying hamstring problem as the Whites dismantled the East Asian minnows 6-1. The friendly was a warm-up for the imminent World Cup 2018-qualifiers against Palestine and Saudi Arabia, with victories likely required in both to progress to the third round.

    With question marks surrounding Mabkhout’s participation, forwards Salem Saleh and Ahmed Ali struck braces while 2015 AFC Asian Player of the Year Ahmed Khalil also registered.

    Al Ahli star Fardan, 25, believed this show of striking depth augured well for the competitive clashes to come.

    He said: “Maybe (against Palestine) we will lose Ali. He is an effective player in the team, who has scored many goals. I hope he will come back as soon as possible.

    “I hope other players will do their best to score the goals and help the team when Ali is not here.

    “I think it is good for the confidence, of course, to score many goals. The next games we should score goals to win. I think Palestine will defend very well. We will need to score goals against them.”

    The UAE are sandwiched between both opponents for the double header at Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium which brings the second round of the AFC process to a close. Group A’s third-placed side Palestine are the first challengers on Thursday, with leaders Saudi Arabia rounding things up a week on Tuesday.

    Only the pool winners are guaranteed to make the next stage. A complicated cumulative-results formula will decide which four nations from the eight runners-up follow them, with the UAE needing to work themselves into the best-possible position.

    “This game against Bangladesh was just to let us prepare for these two matches,” said 36-times- capped Fardan. “I think we did well in the game and the rest of the things we should prepare this week.

    “I think the two games will not be easy. They will be hard matches. I hope we will be ready and we will do our best to qualify.”

    The weekend clash saw Fardan feature in midfield alongside Khamis Esmail for the first time in white since the latter joined him at Ahli from Al Jazira during the winter transfer window.

    The pair have been selected together for a decade in the various UAE youth sides. And Fardan believed their understanding is so entrenched that being club-mates made little difference to their performances for the national side.

    He said: “I think we have played together for a long time. Not only with Khamis, but with most of the players. We have been many years together as a national team.

    “This is good as we know each other. We know the weaknesses and the strengths of each other. We can play on our strengths and we will try to avoid our weaknesses. I think it is good for us.”

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