Once again, Saudi Arabia seem the most obvious roadblock on the UAE’s improbable route to Russia.
The Gulf neighbours, paired with one another in Tuesday's draw for the final round of qualification to the 2018 World Cup, are familiar foes, regularly contesting the region's principal prizes, forever vying for the place at its summit.
Often, the Saudis have come out on top. Round Two of this lengthy and laborious campaign provided the most recent evidence of a rivalry tilted heavily in one camp’s favour, when the UAE finished second to the Saudis in Group A. Mahdi Ali’s men concluded the pool three points worse off, needing instead to advance as one of four best runners-up.
The UAE lost 2-1 In Jeddah last October — a last-gasp defeat but wholly deserved — to make it seven successive reverses against Saudi, then improved significantly to draw 1-1 two weeks ago at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium. By then, though, both sides were already guaranteed to progress.
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Moving forward this time appears infinitely more difficult. Australia and Japan form the top two seeds in Group B and represent the most obvious candidates to automatically qualify for the finals, while the team to finish third must then negotiate a play-off with the third-ranked side from Group A. If successful, the winners face an inter-continental, two-legged tie with a Concacaf representative.
Yet the UAE must focus solely on the immediate task. They will be granted an early indicator of exactly where they stand, and how their chances should ultimately come down to their clashes with Saudi Arabia, when they open in September with the gruesome double-header away to Japan and then at home to Australia.
The UAE were fortunate to get past Japan, entrants in the past five global finals, in last year’s Asian Cup quarter-finals, before succumbing to Australia, the hosts and eventual winners, in the last four. This time round, the relatively weak Iraq and Thailand complete Group B.
The matches against the Saudis, scheduled for October 11 (away) and then August 31, 2017 (home), are therefore potentially defining; they will likely hold the key to unlocking almost three decades of World Cup disappointment.
Gulf neighbours, familiar foes, direct combatants for a place at Russia 2018. It is a gruelling assignment, but the UAE need to banish their recent record against Saudi if they are to hold any hope of reaching the finals in Russia, of breaking free from the shackles they typically encounter when facing them.
Undoubtedly, the UAE have the talent. Now they must display the temperament to make a long-held dream a reality.
jmcauley@thenational.ae
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SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
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Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
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FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
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Feeding the thousands for iftar
Six industrial scale vats of 500litres each are used to cook the kanji or broth
Each vat contains kanji or porridge to feed 1,000 people
The rice porridge is poured into a 500ml plastic box
350 plastic tubs are placed in one container trolley
Each aluminium container trolley weighing 300kg is unloaded by a small crane fitted on a truck
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
Salah in numbers
€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.
13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.
57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.
7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.
3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.
40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.
30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.
8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.