Juma Rabea, the UAE Under 19 coach, is full of confidence ahead of his team's match with Germany tomorrow after seeing his side begin the four-nation Emirates Youth International Championship tournament in Al Ain with a 1-0 win over Egypt on Wednesday night. Salem Saleh's header after nine minutes gave the Emirates a great start to the competition, while Germany were beaten 1-0 by South Korea at the Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium thanks to a goal from Lee Jong Ho.
Juma feels his side can compete with the Germans after an impressive display in their first match. "For sure, we benefited playing against a stronger opponent, we matched them for a major part of the game" he said. "We got an early goal and did well to preserve it until the end, but I would have wished they continued to play a more attacking game, particularly when Egypt were reduced to 10 players [after 65 minutes].
"They were more concerned in preserving the lead than trying to score another goal. Most of our players are new and it seemed they were trying to play for themselves, for a permanent place in the squad. We will have to address their positions in the team and I am sure they will learn from the experience. "This is the first time we have played against stronger opponents and the boys did pretty well. It wasn't about the result but I thought they handled the pressure well.
"The technical level was about 40 per cent of what it should be, which we need to improve." Khalid Mubarak, the UAE midfielder, will miss the Germany match after being sent off in the victory over Egypt. And Egypt will be without midfielder Ahmed Toufeeq against South Korea after he was dismissed for two bookings in the same game. apassela@thenational.ae
