The UAE Under-23s are looking to end their German training camp on a high as they face a Spartak Moscow XI in Regensburg on Thursday.
Ali Ebrahim’s side, who return from their two-week trip to northern Europe on Friday, won the first of their two tour games on Tuesday as they beat local side SV Heimstetten 1-0.
However, the Young Whites are sure to face a step up in class on Thursday as they take on the Russian giants, who are themselves in Germany preparing for the new Russian Premier League season.
And, with the Under-23 Gulf Cup of Nations at the end of August the UAE squad’s primary target, Ebrahim is not resting on his laurels.
“We have focused on the weak points and the mistakes that have been made by the players and corrected them,” he said. “We have also trained on some tactical moves which I have asked the players to implement in their second test against the Russian side.”
It is unclear how strong a team Spartak will put out with a friendly against Danish side Brondby arranged for Saturday, but the 21-time Russian champions will be without national team players Dmitri Kombarov and Denis Glushakov.
Against Heimstetten on Tuesday, Al Shaab forward Ali Yaqoub scored the only goal of the game, netting six minutes into the second half.
“Our focus in the warm-up clashes is to fine tune the squad and work on the proper shape of the team, but winning friendlies will also help in motivating the players and make them taste the flavour of success,” Ebrahim said.
Meanwhile, Dr Abdullah Misfer began his reign as Under-19 coach on Tuesday night as the squad began their preparations for the AFC U-19 Championship 2014 in Myanmar in October.
“The coach is working to generate general knowledge about the 31 shortlisted players and the exact form which they have reached,” team manager Khalid bin Hajar said.
