Cosmin Olaroiu has warned UAE’s players to be prepared for a tough battle as they fight for World Cup qualification survival in Basra on Tuesday night.
The national team drew the first leg of their play-off against Iraq in Abu Dhabi on Thursday night.
The winners of the tie will advance to the final qualifying play-off in Mexico in March, where the last places at the finals in North America next summer will be decided.
The second leg of the final phase of Asian qualifying is scheduled for the 65,000-capacity Basra International Stadium next week.
Graham Arnold, the Iraq coach, warned that Basra has the most passionate football supporters, and has asked for the home fans to be the side’s “12th man” for the decisive fixture.
Olaroiu, the UAE coach, said his players had escaped from a “terrible game” caused by “a lot of stress and emotions” in the 1-1 draw in Abu Dhabi.
He said the 32,000 crowd at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in the capital was the best he had seen for a UAE match and thanked the supporters for their help in getting their side back into the tie.
The home players were betraying nerves as they fell behind in the 10th minute to a goal by Ali Al Hamadi after they failed to clear a free kick.
The UAE levelled through Luan Pereira eight minutes later but the fact Khalid Essa, their goalkeeper, was named player of the match said much about the run of play. Olaroiu said his players need to prove they are able to fight when the crowd are against them in the away leg.
“We have to be ready for the storm,” Olaroiu said. “They [Iraq] played against Saudi [Arabia at a packed stadium in Jeddah] in the last game, and they played against us here with fantastic supporters.
“We have to do the same thing there. We have to believe, and we have to go on. We cannot step back. It's part of our job. We cannot play only home games. We have to play away games.
“We have to be able to play in front of a lot of supporters with pressure, with everything. This will make us, game by game, stronger and stronger.”
Olaroiu urged his players to “battle” and “be brave”, in particular when it comes to combating the physicality of the Iraq side.
The visitors asserted dominance in Abu Dhabi via strength at set pieces, as well as via direct balls to their strikers.
Although he accepted there is no easy fix to the issue, Olaroiu wants his players to prove themselves in Basra.
“This was the first half, now we have to go there to show that we are able to perform in difficult conditions,” Olaroiu said.
“This is what we have to do and we have to believe. We have to try to perform to the maximum we can.
“I know they are a very good team. They have a lot of experienced players playing in Europe. You can see the confidence in the way they play.
“This is football. In this game, we need to show how strong we are. Not in the friendly games we play, or in the domestic league
“This is like a final. This is the game that you prove yourself. I was telling them before the game, you don't have to prove anything to anyone.
“You have to prove to yourself that you are able to perform at the best level in this kind of game. The most important thing that they want to see is the impact they have during the game for the team.”
