Moataz Al-Shami (Dubai)
Our national football team continues its training, at New York University Stadium, in the “closed camp” in the capital, Abu Dhabi, in preparation for the important confrontation against Yemen next Thursday evening, at Al Nahyan Stadium at Al Wahda Club, within the third round of the second stage of the joint Asian qualifiers, qualifying for the “World Cup.” 2026” and “Asia Cup 2027”.
“Al-Abyad” became complete with the arrival of Al-Ain’s “quintet”: Khaled Issa, Khaled Al-Hashimi, Hazem Muhammad, Yahya Nader, and Muhammad Abbas, in addition to Issam Fayez, the Ajman player, after the rest they received for 24 hours, due to the delay of the two teams’ match from the “round.” 16th of the ADNOC Professional League.
The national team performed its first training on Saturday, and it was limited to light sessions, after 20 players joined the list, followed by the “Sexa”, completing the “White” contract in the camp with a list of 26 players, namely: Khaled Issa, Khaled Tawhid, Ali Khasif, Khaled Al-Hashimi, and Khalifa Al-Hammadi. And Muhammad Al-Attas, Ahmed Jamil, Khaled Al-Dhanhani, Zayed Sultan, Badr Nasser, Abdullah Idris, Ali Salmeen, Yahya Nader, Muhammad Abbas, Hazem Muhammad, Majid Rashid, Abdullah Hamad, Tahnoon Al-Zaabi, Issam Fayez, Yahya Al-Ghassani, Harib Abdullah, and Fabio. De Lima, Ali Saleh, Sultan Adel, Caio Canedo and Zayed Al Ameri.
The Portuguese national team coach, Paulo Bento, is focusing on the tactical and tactical aspects, due to the lack of time before facing Yemen next Thursday, as “Al-Abyad” performs today’s training in full after lifting the training load, due to the end of the recovery program for the players who participated strongly in the league matches, which was a motivation. The technical staff has the opportunity to focus on the list of the 2023 Asian Cup, which was held in Doha, due to the availability of harmony and stability of the squad, and the memorization of international players required of them.
Pinto was keen to meet with the players, to stress that the next stage requires redoubling the efforts of everyone, especially since the team needs to move on the path of positive results and victories, in order to early decide the ticket to qualify for the third stage of the joint qualifiers, among the best 18 teams competing for the first 6 cards. Qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
Pinto stressed that the “decision” in choosing the lineup and fielding players in international confrontations is the level of seriousness and commitment, and they must demonstrate fighting spirit, tactical discipline, and adhere to technical instructions.
“Al-Abyad” needs a “full mark” against Yemen in the third round next Thursday, then the return “fourth round” on March 26, in the Saudi city of Al-Khobar, in order to stay at the top of Group Eight, which also includes Bahrain and Nepal, and not wait for the fifth and sixth rounds in June. The next match is against Nepal and Bahrain, and our team has 6 points in the lead from two matches, compared to 3 points for Bahrain and Yemen, and nothing for Nepal.
Yasser Salem, the director of our national team, confirmed the high morale of all the players, praising the commitment and discipline in the atmosphere of the “White” camp, and Pinto’s keenness to pay attention to all the details, and not leave anything to chance.
He pointed out that the technical staff’s choices always depend on the most prominent players who have performed strongly in the league, and the well-equipped personnel who are able to participate and implement technical instructions and tactical tasks, due to the pressure of matches during the past periods, which raised the “rate” of the performance of most players and clubs in our league.
Regarding the completion of the ranks and the incentives for returning to the qualifiers after the early farewell from the round of 16 of the Asian Cup, he said, “Everyone is looking forward, and fighting hard for a qualifying ticket to the World Cup, and that starts from the current camp in Abu Dhabi, where the players have a great incentive, with the aim of continuing the positive results.” With which “Al-Abyad” began its qualifying campaign, which has its own philosophy and differs from the combined championships.
He added, “All players feel responsible and are able to make the UAE fans happy, and we hope that the team will find the necessary support in its matches during the qualifying campaign, because the “White” fans are always a difficult number in all the teams’ stations in all forums, and we are confident that they will play their role in support and assistance during The next stage.”
2024-03-17 13:59:43
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