Sport360° view: UAE already casting their gaze towards 2018

Martyn Thomas 12:05 12/06/2014
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  • Road to Russia: The UAE are plotting their qualification campaign carefully.

    The World Cup gets underway in Brazil this weekend without one of the globe’s most in-form sides.

    It is unlikely many fans around the world will mourn the absence of the UAE, who have only qualified for the tournament once, but the Whites have high hopes of making a second appearance in 2018.

    Their current run of just two defeats in 23 games has seen them installed as favourites to defend their Gulf Cup of Nations crown in November, while they have been set the target of making at least the last four at the Asian Cup in January.

    Mahdi Ali’s men are set for a busy season, but chief among the challenges facing them is how to maintain their current form not only into 2015 but onwards through qualification for Russia 2018.

    The UAE FA have made a very deliberate attempt to raise the standard of opposition, with the national team’s next three opponents – Norway, Belgium and Morocco – representing a step up from Yemen, Bahrain and Uzbekistan.

    Yet limitations were evident in the Whites’ last two games as both Armenia and Georgia were able to carve them open with apparent ease.

    The eagerness of the UAE’s full-backs to bomb forward leaves them horribly exposed on the counter- attack, and against better teams – such as Belgium or Japan – their defence becomes exposed.

    One way to counteract this problem would be for Mahdi to ditch his favoured 4-4-2 formation and bring in an extra midfielder to protect his backline.

    Central midfield is an area where the Whites are strong, and sacrificing either Ali Mabkhout or Ahmed Khalil to accommodate Habib Fardan, Khamis Esmail and Majed Hassan should be explored. It would definitely strengthen an area of the pitch where the UAE were bullied at times against the two former Soviet nations.

    Physicality is another area where the UAE will need to improve if they are to compete with the best teams in Asia and beyond.

    The professionalism of players in the Arabian Gulf League, where post-game warm-downs are still rare, has been questioned by several coaches in recent months. Mahdi must ensure that national team players adhere to the highest standards throughout the season.

    Omar Abdulrahman and Ismail Al Hammadi are extremely talented footballers, but skill does not win football matches on its own. Hard work and dedication is needed too, and to that end the league’s better players should be encouraged to move abroad, where they can play with and learn from better players.

    It is unlikely there will be an exodus of Emirati players any time soon, however, and instead expectation should be capped ahead of the Whites’ testing autumn.

    There would be no shame in losing to a Belgian side containing Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard and Co. The real pity would come if a couple of bad results derailed the UAE’s journey to Russia.

    GYAN'S FUTURE IS FAR FROM CERTAIN

    If Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan has anywhere near the impact this summer as he did in South Africa, Al Ain should expect a few phone calls. 

    The Garden City club are confident he will sign a new four-year deal but a couple of goals against Germany, Portugal and the USA might cloud the picture.

    Should Gyan sign on then it would represent something of a coup for the Arabian Gulf League, and excellent PR when trying to convince players to move to the UAE.

    Al Ain have already added highly- rated South Korea midfielder Lee Myung-joo to their ranks for next season, another player who is convinced a move to the Emirates does not automatically bring with it international retirement.

    On the flipside, though, what would a new four-year deal say for Gyan’s ambition and hunger? At 28 he is entering the peak years of his career, and having scored 104 goals in all competitions en route to two league titles and the President’s Cup, there is little more that he can achieve in the Garden City.

    But having lived in the spotlight for much of his career, the Ghanaian – who has not always enjoyed the best relationship with Black Stars fans – clearly enjoys the freedom he is afforded in Al Ain.

    Whether that is worth foregoing another crack at success in Europe, only Gyan can answer.

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