Riyadh: The UAE’s last Gulf Cup group game against Iraq on Thursday is a “must-win”, not only to qualify from the group but to top it and avoid hosts Saudi Arabia in the semi-final, according to coach Mahdi Ali.
Defending champions UAE have so far drawn their opening games against Oman 0-0 and Kuwait 2-2. The Whites sit joint second in the group with Oman — who drew their follow-up with Iraq 1-1 — on two points, two points behind group leaders Kuwait, who top the group on four points following an opening 1-0 win over Iraq.
The UAE could afford to get away with a draw against Iraq if Oman lose to Kuwait, but Ali is refusing to leave anything to chance.
“The most important thing is to qualify,” said Ali. “The second most important thing is to be first. That would be something positive, because we don’t prefer to play with the host team.
“You qualify based on the number of points, second is goal-difference and third is on the number of goals scored, then we start getting down to the number of yellow cards,” he added.
“Okay, we could qualify second with a draw if Oman lose but in football, you cannot build a game based on this. Both games will be played at the same time and it will be very difficult. We must play normally and try our best to win the game.”
In eight previous Gulf Cup meetings between the two sides, Iraq have won two to the UAE’s one with five draws. The UAE’s sole victory over the Lions of Mesopotamia came in the final of last year’s tournament, when Mahdi Ali’s men recorded a 2-1 win over Iraq in Manama.
Asked if the UAE could expect Iraq to come out and avenge that loss, Ali replied: “I don’t like to speak about revenge because for us this is a game and we put all our effort into doing our best and qualifying for the second round.
On the pressure of having to live up to their defending champions’ billing, he added: “Pressure is part of the game. We’ve played many competitions and have always had pressure. We are the champions and we are used to the pressure. I don’t think pressure is affecting us in this competition, we know very well how to deal with it, we’ve been in this situation many times before and we hope that tomorrow we will be able to play freely without any pressure. It’s a normal part of the game and we have to adapt and get used to it.”
