Marcelo Mendes, the UAE national team coach, remains optimistic about his team's chances at November's Fifa beach soccer world cup despite getting a tough draw. The UAE will face Portugal in the opening match of the tournament, which will be held in Dubai from November 16-22. The other teams in their group include Uruguay and Solomon Island. "It is a group, but I am still confident about our chances," said Mendes after the official draw at Dubai's World Trade Center on Thursday night.
"Beach soccer can be a funny game, where weaker teams like us have an almost equal chance. So anything can happen and I believe we can still achieve our target of reaching the semi-finals." Brazil, winners of the world cup for the last three times, have been drawn in Group D along with African champions Nigeria, Switzerland and the runners-up at the Asian qualifications, which will be held in Dubai a week before the World Cup.
The Asian champions will face Europe's top team Spain, El Salvador and Ivory Coast in Group B, while European runners-up Russia are in Group C with Italy, Costa Rica and Argentina. arizvi@thenational.ae
