Mahdi Ali says the King’s Cup will prove only beneficial to his young UAE side after they finished the three-day tournament with two defeats from their two matches.
The national team manager took a second-string squad to Thailand, where his largely inexperienced team followed Friday’s 3-1 loss to Jordan with Sunday’s 1-0 reverse to Syria.
Mahmoud Al Mawas’s second-half goal sealed a second defeat for the UAE at a rain-swept Rangamangala Stadium in Bangkok, although Al Nasr’s Salem Saleh was guilty of spurning several decent opportunities for the Emirates.
However, with the third and final stage qualification stage for the 2018 World Cup beginning in September, Mahdi Ali said the King’s Cup provided the perfect test for potential graduates with aspirations of being promoted to the regular first-team squad.
“I am satisfied with the form of our young players, despite losing the second match and that this can affect the world rankings,” he said. “With the climate of our country, there is only ever a little rain and there is a good chance that all of our young players have never played in weather like this.
“They now return to the UAE with invaluable experience as players. After this tournament, I think two or three of the young players have a chance to be in the senior team.”
Asked about hosting the Thailand national team in World Cup qualifying’s Group B in October, Mahdi Ali said: “I am looking forward to that. At that time, you will see our real team.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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