Bert van Marwijk conceded the UAE’s concentration could have been better against Indonesia on Friday despite winning 5-0, but expects sufficient focus for next week’s World Cup qualification decider against Vietnam.
The UAE ran out comfortable winners in the end at the Zabeel Stadium against Group G’s bottom side, thanks to doubles from Ali Mabkhout and Fabio De Lima, and a late goal from substitute Sebastian Tagliabue.
However, goalkeeper Ali Kasheif was forced to save an Indonesia penalty as the first half drew to a close, when the score was 2-0. That set up the UAE for an improved second 45 minutes, with a third victory in eight days keeping them second in the group, two points off Vietnam.
The two teams meet at the Zabeel Stadium on Tuesday and, should the UAE triumph, they will progress to the third and final round of qualification as group winners.
Speaking immediately following the Indonesia victory, in which he made a raft of second-half substitutes with an eye on Tuesday, Van Marwijk said: “I’m happy with the 5-0. We started the game very good, but then I think the players felt that it would become a very easy game. And then we were too sloppy and careless.
“So I was not satisfied about that part; I also told them at half-time. In the second half we did it better, we had the control. And then you have to take care and look at the next game. Some players I could give a little bit of a rest and then you have to be concentrated to play the game until the end.
"And we did that very well. We scored five goals, but also we could have scored maybe seven, eight, nine goals. But still we have nothing.”
On Khaseif’s penalty save, Van Marwijk said: “That was an important moment. The difference between the two teams, I wasn’t worried, but I was angry that we started playing so easy and comfortable, lost the ball easy and the last passes were not concentrated.
“And if you’re a player on the pitch, you feel directly what the difference between the two teams is. And then you start playing easier. That’s one of the most difficult parts in football: that you still stay focused. That’s what we’re talking about already a long time, and the team is improving in those situations.
"But they can be better. That’s why I was very unsatisfied at half-time. We need more concentration in the last game.”
However, Van Marwijk highlighted Monday’s win against Thailand as reason to be optimistic. The UAE came through that match 3-1, but were made to work hard by the Southeast Asians to keep alive their World Cup hopes.
Van Marwijk said he anticipates more of the approach shown in that encounter going into Vietnam on Tuesday. The frontrunners have played twice in Dubai since the campaign restarted last week, defeating Indonesia 4-0 on Monday before dispatching Malaysia 2-1 on Friday night.
“I’m not afraid of [a lack of focus], because we’re playing against another opponent,” Van Marwijk said. “You saw against Thailand that our concentration was much higher. The players also feel that when you play against a better team - it’s a situation that happens all over the world. But still you don’t want to see it as a coach.
“For me, Vietnam together with Thailand are our strongest opponents. Vietnam plays a different system; we know that, we also played [in November 2019] there. So we will train the players on that. The players already know what to do when you play against a system like that. But Vietnam have also good results, so it will be a tough game.”
Mabkhout, voted man of the match having moved top of the second-round goalscoring charts, with 10 goals, added: “I agree with the coach that the team was a little bit sloppy during the match, but we learnt a lesson that we need to focus and stay alert during the whole match to get the final result.
“We will keep fighting to get a last win against Vietnam. We’ll be prepared for that.”
