ACL Round of 16: Al Wasl brace for Al Sadd challenge
2 Mar 2025 23:03
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)Al Wasl will be desperate to feed off their home support base at the Zabeel Stadium on Monday when they take on Al Sadd of Qatar in the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League (ACL) Elite division.The domestic champions of the UAE Al Wasl have advanced past the group stage, while ACL winners and two-time tournament champions Al Ain fell short in the first season under the revamped format. Eight clubs are sparring for the right to represent the west of the continent in next month's quarter-finals.However, Milos Milojevic's men go in the Round of 16 clash with shaky recent form against a team who have the best player of Qatar – Akram Afifi – in their ranks. And Afifi's ego will be hurting having come up a cropper when the national sides met on a home-and-away basis for the FIFA 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers. The UAE thrashed Qatar by 3-1 and 5-0 margins. Yet, Al Wasl lost their last two group matches going into the ACL Elite knockouts. In the ADNOC Pro League, a 2-1 defeat to lowly Khor Fakkan on Thursday left them on 27 points and their title defence as good as over.Head to head, Al Sadd have the better hand, too. This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides with the Qatari club having won twice, while the most recent encounter – in the league stage – ended in a 1-1 draw.Felix Sanchez's side are well in place to defend their Qatar Stars League title, a 4-0 win over Al Gharafa on Thursday moving them to 37 points – one behind Al Duhail Sport Club. The mercurial Afif has four goals from seven matches, already matching his total tally over 17 matches from the previous three seasons.Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr side will look to turn around a run of indifferent form against Iran's Esteghlal in Tehran. The Riyadh-based side are one of three Saudi Pro League teams to reach the last-16.The latter stages will be played in a centralised format in Jeddah for the first time, with the four quarter-finalists from West Asia entering into the draw for the next phase on March 17 alongside four clubs from the east.
Last year's runners-up, Japan's Yokohama F Marinos, will take on Shanghai Port on Tuesday having earned a confidence-boosting 2-0 win over Kevin Muscat's team in the league phase last month. Thai League 1 champions Buriram United host a Johor Darul Ta'zim side buoyed by retaining their Malaysian league title last week.
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Al Etihad
4 days ago
- Al Etihad
FIFA World Cup qualifier: UAE draw fails to stop Uzbekistan seal historic entry to Finals
6 June 2025 00:32 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)The eve of Eid Al Adha did not bring the sweets the UAE desired in a 0-0 result in Abu Dhabi against Uzbekistan in a crucial match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifying stage on Thursday. Needing a point to secure one of two automatic berths from Group A to the Finals in United States, Mexico and Canada, the second-placed Uzbekistan got what they needed after more than 90 minutes of action against the third-placed UAE at Al Wahda's Al Nahyan Cosmin Olaroiu's men hoped their rivals, also an Islam-dominated nation, would succumb to butterflies in their stomachs ahead of a historic first entry to the Finals stage, it did not UAE will now have to head to the next stage of qualifying where chances get slimmer. In anticipation of the difficult road, and manager Olaroiu having been parachuted into this game as a late replacement for Paulo Bento, the UAE fans unfurled huge banners of support which read: 'Dreams Will Come True' and 'We Trust You Guys'.For the strategists, UAE could have started aggressively or played a cautious hand at first. They seemed to have gone for the latter, even when there was early trouble for Uzbekistan when Farrukh Safyiev experienced groin or hamstring problems. He tried to come back but on his first touch again experienced discomfort and had to be replaced with Abbosbek Fayzullaev. In a dull first half, UAE showed more flair but not the finishing skills to boot. Seeing their hesitation or struggles, Uzbekistan made couple of forays, but the defenders and goalkeeper Khalid Eissa proved to alert through the match. If any indication was needed about the intent, the UAE started with a wing formation of 4-2-3-1 while Uzbekistan organised themselves in a diamond pattern with 3-4-2-1 making moves from the middle of the pitch scarce to come the breather, there was an immediate show of intent from the UAE with Caio Canedo attempting a weak shot and hoping to find the goalkeeper wrong-footed, in vain. Soon after, Uzbekistan had a counter threat saved by the crossbar. If the pace of the first 10 minutes raised hopes of a momentum shift, it proved to be a false past the hour mark, Olaroiu swaps out Ali Saleh with Yahya Al Ghassani, who came with many sprinting bursts but his colleagues were not in sync with him. And then, expectedly, Uzbekistan players started time-wasting tactics and cramping up to break the flow of the game. Uzbekistan got the draw they wanted, with a game to spare, however scrappy the point came. Meanwhile, the UAE play Kyrgyzstan next in their final group game, the away game mostly to stay firm in third or fourth place. Olariou and his men will now need to start also gearing up for the next round of play-offs where the middle teams of three groups will churn to get two teams into the funnel. The UAE remain in hope, that dreams will come true.
Al Etihad
5 days ago
- Al Etihad
World Cup qualifier: UAE out to spoil Uzbekistan's party
5 June 2025 00:04 KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)The UAE national football team is gearing up to resurrect its joint qualification campaign for both the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup when they take on Uzbekistan in a must-win Group A match at Al Wahda's Al Nahyan Stadium on Thursday (8pm kick-off).Two matches remain in this round of qualifying; two teams from each of the three groups go through automatically. Iran have already qualified from the first are in second on 17 points, needing only a point, while UAE are in third on 13 points. Cosmin Olaroiu's men need both wins – the next one is away in Kyrgyzstan five days later – and also hope Uzbekistan lose to them and Qatar Uzbekistan will hope the pressure on the UAE will make it easy for them, the hosts can only hope the nerves get the better of the Uzbeks, who are out to make history by qualifying for the Finals – in US, Canada and Mexico – for the first coaches are experienced but fairly new to the job. Olaroiu was parachuted in place of Paulo Bento after Match Day 8 while Timur Kapadze had to be brought in after Srecko Katanec asked to be relieved due to health conditions. Both leaders in the dugout will also be sizing each other up with took charge last month after fulfilling duties with Sharjah, while Kapadze came on board in February. The latter paid a visit to Abu Dhabi to check on conditions in April and has Katanec, a former UAE coach, by his side for advice.'His condition is improving and he is assisting me,' Kapadze told the media at a pre-match news conference on must have followed Olaroiu closely over the past two months, and how he sparked a revival since taking over Sharjah in 2021, a club where the Uzbek manager had a short-lived stint of six months in chose the operative word well – belief – to explain his team's approach on Wednesday, displaying a positive mindset in training in the build-up at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Al Jazira's home, down the road from the match venue.'We must believe we will be there in the finals, and we will try to take each game as a final,' said Olaroiu, who included five Sharjah players in the preliminary squad. The coach has spent 10 years in the UAE with three clubs, including Shabab Al Ahli and Al Ain. 'I know my [Sharjah] players very well but they are national players now just like everybody.'Sat by his side was the Khaled Essa, the man in the last line of defence for the Whites. 'We are closer to the World Cup than ever before, having come a long way. We must believe each... us, fans; everyone is in this together,' said the and the defenders will need to be on guard if Kapadze chooses to field Eldor Shomurodov, the AS Roma forward, who joined the squad four days history-seeking Uzbekistan won't be easy, with the White Wolves having suffered defeat only once in their qualifying campaign. The players, said defender Rustam Ashurmatov, are determined to realise the dreams of their nation. 'We give our all in every match. We go to the field only to win. I think our team is capable of this – we will win,' said Ashurmatov to the local media, who have assembled in hordes in anticipation of witnessing a historic moment materialising in the UAE capital. Kapadze, meanwhile, arrived late to the press conference and only got to answer a couple of questions as a result. It is up to Olaroiu and his men to put Uzbekistan's party on hold. Source: Aletihad - Abu Dhabi
The National
5 days ago
- The National
Cosmin Olaroiu calls on UAE players to make World Cup dreams come true
Cosmin Olaroiu says the UAE national team want to deliver qualification for the World Cup as a gift for 'a nation that deserves it'. Fourteen years after he first arrived in the club game as coach of Al Ain, the Romanian has taken charge of the national side with the ultimate prize at stake. They face Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening knowing direct qualification to the 2026 World Cup is possible, even if it is hanging by a thread. If the home team can beat the second-placed Uzbeks at Al Nahyan Stadium, they will move to within a point of them in the group. They would then need to better whatever result the Uzbeks achieve against Qatar on Tuesday in their own game in Kyrgyzstan to book their ticket to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Coincidentally, Tuesday is also Olaroiu's birthday. Even though he has been in situ in his new role for little more than a week, optimism has been flooding through the game here since he landed the role. His appointment has infused people with the belief qualification can be achieved without resorting to a repechage play-off in October. It is the 'Olaroiu effect' in motion, but the man himself says only a group effort will bring about success. 'It's not about me,' Olaroiu said. 'I am a small part of this team. I am here to help, and give my support and experience to transfer to the players to reach their dream. 'It is about this group of players. They have the biggest opportunity at this moment that most of them will have in their careers: to participate in a World Cup. 'They should understand this and be very motivated to reach their dream, and the dream of a nation that deserves to get this. For us, this is a big responsibility.' Given how much rests on the game against the Uzbeks, Olaroiu has a tricky balance to strike. He acknowledged his coaching staff have had to rein back the players at points over the past week, so enthusiastic have they been. Even that, though, he regards as positive. 'Sometimes they overload themselves and we have to tell them to calm down a little bit, and this is a good sign that they want it,' Olaroiu said. 'This is the way we should approach the game.' Olaroiu accepts the challenge facing his side is a sizeable one against an Uzbek side which he terms 'one of the biggest teams in Asia'. But he enjoys it that way, he said. 'In my career I have been involved in games against lots of teams who are bigger than us,' the UAE coach said. 'Always, we have one chance, and I will fight for the chance. We have to do this, and tomorrow is our first chance to do this.' If Olaroiu is charged with readying the players for the challenge ahead, then he has an able captain on the field to help carry out the mission. Khalid Essa, the goalkeeper, is almost as adept at delivering a message as his new coach. The Al Ain No 1 said he feels privileged to finally work with Olaroiu. 'I have spent 15 years representing the clubs I have played for and the national team,' Essa said. 'Through these years, I can say I am very proud and lucky that, before I retire, I have played under the guidance of this coach. 'He is a coach who can understand the players inside and outside the pitch. He can extract the maximum from the players. He has leadership characteristics, and knows the players who are here more than any other coach.' Essa, too, emphasised the fact success will only come via a communal effort. 'We are much closer to the World Cup than we have ever been, and we believe in this moment,' Essa said. 'It will be a joint effort between the players, the management, the federation, the fans, and the entire nation. 'If we continue in this way, we can achieve big things. Until this point we have been performing well, but luck wasn't on our side, fate wasn't on our side. 'We don't know what the result will be tomorrow, but we will put in all our efforts, and we are expecting a positive atmosphere. We are seeing that already. 'We are all sailing the same ship here. We all want to qualify for the World Cup. The entire country. To do that, for the next five days we all need to share in the joint effort.'
