Athletes said that the task of the first national football team against the Qatari team in the match that will bring them together, tomorrow, at Al Nahyan Stadium at Al Wahda Club in Abu Dhabi, in the sixth round of the third round of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, will be difficult, but not impossible, and that there is no choice. “Al-Abyad” has no choice but to win, confirming that the national team can repeat its victory over “Al-Anabi”, after defeating it in the first leg held in Doha with a score of 3-1.
The athletes identified five technical steps that “Al-Abyad” will need to defeat “Al-Anabi” and enhance its chances of competing for one of the two qualification cards for the World Cup, noting that these steps are: “Developing an appropriate technical plan, in addition to good mental focus of the players, and stability of the formation.” Choosing the most prepared players, as well as the Portuguese coach, Paulo Bento’s good reading of the course of the match and his timely intervention.”
They told Emirates Al-Youm: “Winning tomorrow’s match constitutes a major boost for the national team in its journey towards qualifying for the World Cup, and we are confident that (Al-Abyad) will not give up points in the Qatar match, the difficulty of which lies in it being crucial for the two teams in the qualification race.”
The national team is in third place among the teams in Group A with seven points, equal to its Qatari counterpart, who is in fourth place, while the Iranian team is at the top of the group standings with 13 points, and the Uzbek team is in second place with 10 points.
Things are clear
The Emirati coach, Eid Barot, considered that the most important thing in such qualifiers is the result and the collection of points, pointing out that the team coach, Paulo Pinto, took a risk in the last Kyrgyzstan match, and that this boldness was positive, and led the team to win by three clean goals, stressing that the team is required to In his match against Qatar, he decided to settle more on the starting lineup, unless there are players who feel tired, the coach can rest them.
Eid Barot added: “In the recent period, we have witnessed many positive indicators in the national team, whether in terms of new players who have recently joined, or even players who are not key players in their clubs, but were distinguished with the national team.”
He pointed out that he is optimistic, “although the match is not easy, but at the same time it is not impossible,” considering that in light of the great rivalry between the Emirati and Qatari teams, it is difficult to predict the outcome of the match, especially since both teams had achieved victory in their last match. At home, raising his score to seven points.
Crossroads
The former international player and former supervisor of the national team, Dr. Hassan Suhail, described the team’s match against its Qatari guest as “fateful,” and considered a crossroads, especially since the two teams are equal in number of points, in addition to their closeness in technical level, so the winner of this match will join the team. The Iranian and Uzbek national teams are in the race to qualify for the World Cup.
He stressed that “Al-Abyad” has no choice but to win this match to maintain its chances of qualifying, calling on the players to focus well, in addition to coach Pinto selecting the appropriate players and developing an offensive plan that will help the team win.
Hassan Suhail said: “We ask the players to calm down, because the team that enters the match in a calm and focused manner will be the one closest to victory.”
He added: “Although the Qatari team includes distinguished players, our national team is capable of repeating the scenario of winning against them.”
Calm and focused
For his part, former member of the Board of Directors of Sharjah Football Company, former international player Ibrahim Saleh Sembig, said that the team’s players are required to remain calm, focus and fight throughout the match, leading to victory, stressing the importance of stabilizing the team’s technical level, and for coach Pinto to follow the same method that He played his last match against Kyrgyzstan.
He added: “The national team players must have confidence in themselves and their technical capabilities, especially since the national team had previously won over its Qatari counterpart in Doha.”
Ibrahim Saleh stressed that the match will be difficult, especially since the Qatar team is distinguished and is the Asian champion in the last two editions, and in turn is looking for victory and enhancing its chances of competing for the qualification ticket.
The 5 technical steps
– Develop an appropriate technical plan.
– Good mental focus for players.
– Formation stability and selection of the most ready players.
– Good reading by Coach Pinto of the course of the match.
– Timely technical intervention.
No injuries among the team before facing Al-Annabi
At six in the evening today, the national football team will perform its final training at New York University Stadium in Abu Dhabi, in preparation for facing Qatar, tomorrow, at Al Nahyan Stadium at Al Wahda Club, in the sixth round of the third round of qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, noting that the national football team He had organized his daily training after his last match against Kyrgyzstan, which he won by three clean goals in the fifth round.
Emirates Today learned that there are no injuries among the team, and that all players are performing their training seriously and with focus.
During recent training, the team’s technical staff focused on preparing its players and working on the stability of the starting lineup. It also worked on enhancing the positive aspects and addressing the negatives that appeared in the Kyrgyzstan match.
On the other hand, the Qatar national team will perform its final training at 7:30 pm today at Al Nahyan Stadium.
Qatar national team coach, Marquez Lopez, summoned player Abdullah Youssef, after Abdullah Al-Yazidi suffered an ankle injury during Qatar’s last match against Uzbekistan.
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