The UAE will be looking to put more points in the bag on Monday night when they face Turkmenistan in their second qualifying game for the 2013 AFC U-22 Championship.
Bader Saleh’s young Whites secured maximum points after beating tournament hosts Oman 2-0 in the opening game at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat.
Younus Ahmad and Jamal Ibrahim scored for the Emiratis, who dominated proceedings from start to finish, and should be in for a relatively easier ride against Turkmenistan, who were thrashed 4-0 by Iraq in their opening match.
Prior to the team’s departure UAE coach Saleh picked the UAE, Iraq and Oman as the top three teams in the six team Group A which also includes Turkmenistan, Lebanon and India, however, after the Indians thumped the Lebanese 5-2 in their opening match, his view seems to have changed a bit.
Only the top two teams qualify for the tournament finals, Saleh said: “It’s a difficult tournament. Iraq, UAE and Oman are clearly the strongest teams but in football it is difficult to predict who will win because you fight for the result on the field.
“On paper a team can be the favourite but once you enter the field it all depends on how you play your football, so we will have to be focused on the remainder of the games. This is not an easy competition and since it’s the first time this is being held everyone including us is keen on qualifying.”
Despite his cautious approach Saleh says if the UAE can win all its matches, they won’t have to worry about happenings elsewhere in the group.
“This win is just one game out of five, so we should not get ahead of ourselves, but we need to focus on ourselves and not on what’s happening elsewhere.
We have to play each match like the first match with Oman, at a high level and with a lot of ball possession. We surprised Oman in the first game, but they surprised us as well and I feel they still have a good chance of qualifying for the finals.”
UAE will face Turkmenistan at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (kick-off 17.00), while Oman take on Lebanon at the same venue later (kick off 20.00). In a third tie on Monday night, Iraq and India lock horns at the Royal Oman Police Stadium.
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