Sport360° view: Not the time for UAE to panic despite heavy loss

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  • Fighting for their place: The UAE (red) gave chances to second string players against Uzbekistan.

    It’s all too easy to panic after a 4-0 home defeat. Discard the template and return to the drawing board.

    With a month to go until the UAE’s Gulf Cup defence begins, a clamour may build for instant changes after last night’s humbling to Uzbekistan.

    In reality, there were almost as many mitigating factors as goals conceded at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium. In time, this result will be a footnote for a team who have proved beyond doubt they are one of Asia’s finest over a substantial length of time.

    This was just a hiccup, admittedly a substantial one, in a friendly.

    The burning heat of competitive action did not sharpen the mind, however hard that pragmatic argument is to stomach. Much more will be delivered on November 14 when the first ball is kicked in anger against Oman.

    A side that has recently boasted a 20-match unbeaten run and emerged from friendlies against Norway, Lithuania, Paraguay and Australia undefeated guarantees that.

    The early weeks of the Arabian Gulf League have taken a toll on coach Mahdi Ali’s options.

    Walid Abbas, Ismail Matar and star man Omar Abdulrahman will turbo boost an already impressive starting line-up, while Majed Hassan should be the first substitute summoned from the substitute’s bench.

    Club v country is a row that defines elite football.

    Sides who pay the wages want to protect investments, while nations must make the most of the limited exposure they have to their stars.

    Ali bristled with frustration when talking post-match about the insidious effect. This was not paranoia or scrambling for an excuse.

    To be thrashed by a nation they beat and drew with in Asian Cup qualifying in the last year-and-a-half proved his point alone.

    Whether the “pressure” applied ahead of Friday’s resumption of the Arabian Gulf League was direct or subliminal, only the players can answer. Not even the quintet brought in to increase the scrap for plane tickets to Saudi Arabia could lift themselves.

    Runs weren’t tracked, 50/50 challenges pulled out of and link-ups were laboured.

    The medical team attempting to rouse goalkeeper Khalid Essa after taking a knee to the face for the second goal should have applied the smelling salts to his zombified team-mates.

    Refinements could be made to ensure one bad game does not turn into a downwards spiral.

    The UAE have scored only two goals in their last six games. Issues exist in an attack that possesses talent but little spark. This is especially apparent when discussing the contribution of strikers Ali Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil.

    The duo share no chemistry.

    Neither has found the back of the net since March’s qualifier with Uzbekistan, seven games ago. Their recent accommodation in a 4-4-2 denies parity in numbers for a midfield that excels when granted possession.

    When asked to fill in out wide as the shape temporarily shifts to a 4-2-3-1, both look uncomfortable.

    Context, rather than instant reaction, is vital when reviewing this fixture.

    A friendly detailed by a plethora of changes and crammed into a tight domestic schedule was always likely to create problems.

    The worries will only be made real if the stupor transmits to the Gulf Cup. With what this Whites side have achieved, they have earned the right to prove they are better than that.

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