UAE reach Fifa Arab Cup knockout stages despite narrow defeat to Tunisia in Qatar


John McAuley
  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE were defeated, for the first time this tournament, but still they booked a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2021 Fifa Arab Cup.

The Group B finale against Tunisia in Doha on Monday had not even finished when news began to waft around Al Thumama Stadium: Mauritania, the bottom team in the standings, had beaten Syria 2-1 not far away in Al Wakrah. Now guaranteed second spot, the UAE had progressed.

No matter then, really, that they would go on to suffer the 1-0 reverse, sealed by Seifeddine Jaziri’s solitary strike right at the beginning of the match.

OK, the UAE let slip top berth to their eventual victors, but would advance anyway as runners-up. In the end, once the decider had run its course and the dust soon settled, the six points gleaned from the opening two ties this past week proved enough.

A place in the last eight of this rebranded Fifa event is theirs; there, on Friday, the UAE meet Qatar, tournament hosts and reigning Asian champions. While surely not the match-up manager Bert van Marwijk would have prioritised — Qatar are among the favourites for the trophy — the UAE’s tilt at the title rumbles on.

On Monday, they survived the surprise absence through injury of star striker Ali Mabkhout, even if the country’s all-time leading goalscorer has been wildly off form. They did well too without goalkeeper Ali Khaseif, often captain and a regular sounding board, entrusting the experienced Khalid Essa instead.

They even played the entire second half minus skipper Walid Abbas following an earlier kick to his head. Of course, improvement will be required for Qatar, but the UAE are still there, in with a shout.

They were behind on 10 minutes at a piercing and partisan Al Thumama Stadium, much to the delight of the heavy Tunisian support. Collecting a loose ball some way from goal, Tunisia captain Youssef Msakni slalomed through the ragged UAE defence before Essa thwarted his run. However, the ball broke loose to Jaziri, who slotted home easily the rebound.

Struggling to carve any real chances, the UAE finally tested opposition goalkeeper Mouez Hassen on 24 minutes, when Ali Saleh curled an effort from range straight from a short corner. The shot, dipping inches under the crossbar, was palmed away to safety.

Moments later, Essa saved well from Jaziri after pushing the ball into the thick of the penalty area, with Mohammed Al Attas then on hand to block the subsequent rebound. The UAE defender was alert once more soon after, preventing Msakni from scoring into an empty net, instigated by a mix-up between Ali Salmeen and Essa.

In truth, there should have been little anyone could do just before half-time, when Naim Sliti drove into the UAE area and pulled the ball across to Jaziri. With the goal gaping, though, the Tunisia forward contrived to steer his shot on to the outside of the post. He was four yards out.

Forced into a change at half-time, with Abbas withdrawn for Mohanad Salem, the UAE grew into the match. Sliti had fired wide when well placed almost immediately after the restart, and Van Marwijk's relieved side began to assert themselves.

On 52 minutes, Salem flicked on a Saleh free-kick that deflected off Tunisia’s Ghailene Chaalali, prompting Hassen into a fine reactionary save. He was stationed right on his goalline. It was easily the closest the UAE had come. They did so again, right at the death, when left-back Mahmoud Khamis powered his drive inches wide.

Irrespective of that, or the failure to pilfer a point, the UAE continue. In the quarters, they will miss Abbas, not through injury but suspension following a first-half booking against Tunisia, but the initial mission is complete. The knockout stages beckon.

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MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)

Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports

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FIXTURES

UAE’s remaining fixtures in World Cup qualification R2
Oct 8: Malaysia (h)
Oct 13: Indonesia (a)
Nov 12: Thailand (h)
Nov 17: Vietnam (h)
 

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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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FIXTURES

Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)

Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)

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Stage 5 results

1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53

2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -

Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott - 

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ  0:00:04

5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07

General Classification:

1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04

2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01

3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48

5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11

The drill

Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.

Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”

Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”

Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.” 

SPECS
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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

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Key developments

All times UTC 4

The biog

Year of birth: 1988

Place of birth: Baghdad

Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany

Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading

 

 

Itcan profile

Founders: Mansour Althani and Abdullah Althani

Based: Business Bay, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India

Sector: Technology, digital marketing and e-commerce

Size: 70 employees 

Revenue: On track to make Dh100 million in revenue this year since its 2015 launch

Funding: Self-funded to date

 

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Racecard

6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m

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8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m

8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m

The National selections

6.30pm: Chaddad

7.05pm: Down On Da Bayou

7.40pm: Mass Media

8.15pm: Rafal

8.50pm: Yulong Warrior

9.25pm: Chiefdom

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360Vuz PROFILE

Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah 
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology 
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million 
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Avengers: Endgame

Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin

4/5 stars 

Updated: December 06, 2021, 5:50 PM`