A meeting with Vietnam in the round of 16 of the Asian Games football competition on Friday was a foregone conclusion, said Ali Ibrahim, the UAE coach.
“The moment Iran were beaten and we finished second in our group it became very clear we will meet them,” the Emirati said after Vietnam rounded off Group H with a resounding 2-0 win over Kyrgyzstan in Incheon, South Korea, yesterday.
“A meeting with them was no surprise for us, though, as we expected to finish first in our group and for Iran to top the other group. That didn’t happen, but here we are still facing Vietnam.
“Having topped their group, Vietnam are the strongest from the other group. We watched both their games and must say they were very impressive against Iran (defeating the four-time gold medallist 4-1). So we expect a very strong match.”
The UAE will have had a week to prepare since their last match, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Jordan, who defeated India 2-0 to head Group G. "We had four days until Vietnam played their final match in the group and we have been preparing to face them since then," Ali Ibrahim said.
“But having said that, it really doesn’t matter who we face. The matches don’t get any easier from now on in this knockout format of the competition.
“We must be prepared to play against any team if we want to be successful. All my players are aware of that and I am hopeful they will do their best to take us to the next round.”
It is the UAE’s first meeting with Vietnam in the age-group competition, but the senior national team would remember when the South East Asian nation stunned them 2-0 in the Asian Cup opener in July 2007, which effectively ended their campaign in the group stage.
They have met four times since and won all, twice in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and twice in the 2015 Asian Cup qualifiers.
However, Ali Ibrahim insisted such records were irrelevant.
“We can’t compare the senior national team with the age group teams. So such records will not matter for both teams,” he said.
The Asian Games tournament is similar to the Olympics, with an Under 23 squad being supplemented by three over-age players.
apassela@thenational.ae
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