Mabkhout promises more as UAE ready to take on Iraq

Ali Mabkhout has vowed to deliver more goals for the UAE when they play Iraq in Group A of the Gulf Cup on Friday.

Mabkhout continued his recent vein of rich form by scoring a hat-trick in UAE’s 3-0 win over Yemen in their opener on Tuesday.

The striker, who last month became UAE’s leading scorer, has scored six goals in the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

“I promise to make even more efforts in the coming matches, although Iraq will not be easy, as was shown in their victory against a strong opponent in the first game,” Mabkhout said.

 “Everyone must focus more and work together to make the UAE fans happy.

“The most important thing for the team is the victory and getting the three points, regardless of who scores.”

Iraq will be a tougher challenge then Yemen, having opened their campaign with a shock 2-1 win over AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 winners Qatar.

In Mabkhout, however, UAE have a striker who they can rely on in tough games, with the Al Jazira player having scored nine goals in his past four matches with the national side.

“Every player aspires to accomplish personal achievements, and I’m very happy to reach this number,” Mabkhout said. “But the team is the priority. Only with their support am I able to score the goals.”

Bert van Marwijk’s side will take on Iraq sitting at the top of Group A, ahead on goal difference but the head coach said UAE must be on their toes for a tough assignment.

“The result of that game (Yemen) has no impact on the team; we deal with each game separately,” the Dutchman said. “The match between the UAE and Iraq will be different.”

Van Marwijk, however, was pleased with UAE’s performance against Yemen, with the win coming after they had suffered back-to-back defeats against Thailand and Vietnam in Group G of the Asian qualifiers.

“Our team has performed well in all the different positions, and the players carried out what we asked of them. We could have scored more than three goals had it not been for missed opportunities.”

The UAE will wait to discover if Hamdan Al Kamali will be available for Friday, with the defender unable to complete the match against Yemen through injury. The team’s back-line had enjoyed a comfortable night on Tuesday, with Yemen offering little threat.

Shabab Al Ahli defender Mohammed Marzouq said the team is brimming with confidence ahead of their next match.

 “I wish a speedy recovery to defender Hamdan Al Kamali who was injured, and we hope he will return soon.”

 “Iraq team has developed a lot recently, but we trust ourselves and will give our best to win.

“We know how tough the match will be against Iraq and Qatar, but we will focus on each game separately,” he added.

UAE coach Bert van Marwijk described the match against Iraq in the second round of the Gulf Cup as a pass to the semi-finals.

“It is an important match for both the teams. Both the teams are coming into the match after winning their respective opening games.

“And a victory for any of the two teams, can pave way for the semi-finals. Both UAE and Iraq are string teams and will look book their boost their last four hopes with successive win in their second game.”

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the coach explained that the Whites did not have enough time to prepare specifically for this match.

“Due to the lack of time between the first and second games, we did not get enough time to train. All the teams will have to face this situation because of the tight schedule,” said Van Marwijk.

Van Marwijk also sounded being wary of Iraq.

“Technical staff is focused on the tactical side in the preparation, and worked to prepare the players for the important meeting against the Iraqi team.

“Iraq are a good team and I can say that because of my first-hand experience against them during my sting as Saudi coach.  I have played against them and I know them in and out. They are physically and mentally very strong. And they proved it in their game against Qatar,” he added.

“In the past months we have started building a new team and there are a number of talented young players. It is important to give these players the opportunity to get the required experience,” he informed.

Meanwhile, coach Felix Sanchez has no doubt his Qatar side will bounce back from their defeat to Iraq in their opener on Tuesday.

The AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 winners were stunned 2-1 by Srecko Katanec’s Iraq and have to defeat Yemen on Friday to reignite their hopes.

“I am confident that we will bounce back. The defeat is disappointing but it wasn’t because we didn’t try,” said Sanchez as Qatar suffered their first defeat to an Asian team in 2019.

Agencies