We are ready for the challenges, says UAE goalkeeper Kahseif

Mohammad Abdullah, Staff Reporter

Ali Khaseif, the goalkeeper of UAE national team, predicted a tough road ahead for the UAE ahead of the final round of the World Cup qualifiers.

The UAE will get their campaign under way with a match against Lebanon on Sept.3, to be followed by another four days later against Syria on Sept.7 in Dubai.

“The task that we have in our hands will be a difficult one at the final stage of the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.

“All the teams in the group are aspiring to book their berth in the finals and they have the motivation and ambition to reach the World Cup.

“Each team will work hard to get maximum number of points in the final leg of the qualifiers to boost their chances of playing at the flagship event,” said Khaseif.

Khaseif, who plays for Al Jazira, played an important role in their march to the Arabian Gulf League (AGL) title and was named as the best goalkeeper of the Year in the recently held Pro League annual awards in Abu Dhabi.

The Whites were quite parsimonial in conceding goals in the second round. They had conceded only three goals in four matches where as they scored a total of 15, beating Malaysia 4-0, Thailand 3-1, Indonesia 5-0 and Vietnam 3-2 under the guidance of Dutch coach Bert Van Marwijk.

Marwijk is considered as one of the shrewdest coaches of the world as he chartered out Saudi Arabia’s route to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

On the upcoming match against the Lebanese national team, Ali Khaseef said they are wary of Lebanon and respect all their opponents.

“We know Lebanon have a number of excellent players. We need to respect all competitors in the group. We will not underestimate any team and regardless of the difference in the position on the table,” he stressed.

He vowed to continue working hard to achieve the dream of qualifying for the World Cup.

“We are able to conquer all difficulties and overcome all challenges. We understand the importance and difficulty of the current stage of the qualifiers, and will do everything we can to the maximum collect points in the upcoming matches,” he promised.

"It is not going to be easy for us because the group includes strong teams, which means that there are many tough games in store for us.

“But we will take them one by one. Our focus is on the Lebanon match at the moment. Then we will move on to the match against Syria.

“This is how we are going to deal with them. We will focus on one game at a time like we did in the previous round,” he informed.

UAE needed to win all their matches in the second round to keep their hopes alive and they managed to achieve the feat as the defeated Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam in four successive matches with in a short period of just 14 days.

The fixtures of the second round were stacked into a jam-packed calendar to make up for the time lost due to pandemic, which had brought the entire sport fraternity to a halt. The second round was postponed thrice before being shifted to the UAE eventually.

Meanwhile, UAE player Walid Abbas confirmed that the mood in the camp is positive and players are keen to take on field for the final round of the qualifiers.

“After playing in the two matches of the Arabian Gulf League, the players are in better physical and mental condition.

“They are geared up and raring to go on the field and perform for their national team. We have been playing for a long time in the league so we will not take much time in gelling with each other,” said Abbas.

Walid also urged the fans to keep supporting their team as they need it.

“I request all the fans to keep rooting for us as their support is the single biggest motivating factor behind the success of the team so far,” he said.

“I am confident the fans will be us as they have always been. We will do everything we can to make everyone happy, and we will leave no stone unturned to achieve the desired goal," he stressed.

Meanwhile, the UAE are attending their second training camp in Serbia as a part of the preparations for the World Cup qualifiers. The first training camp was held from Aug.6-13 in Serbia before the start of the AGL season, which got under way on Aug.19.