UAE team has high hopes for Asian Cup

Srecko Katanec's main worry is not having enough preparation time to get his players in their best shape for the continental championship.

UAE’s Ismail Matar, left, chases Australia’s Brett Holman during Wednesday’s game.

DOHA // Expectations from the UAE team at the Asian Cup will be high following the recent success of the Olympic and junior teams, but Srecko Katanec is worried that he did not have enough time to get his players in their best shape for the continental championship.

The 23-man UAE squad will arrive in Doha today, with most of the players who won a silver medal at the Asian Games in November, clinched the Asian Under 19 Championship and two Gulf age-group titles, and reached the quarter-finals of the World Youth Cup in 2009 forming the core of the team.

The "Whites" will start their campaign against North Korea on Tuesday, before meeting Iraq (January 15) and Iran (January 19) in their other Group D games.

The two teams finishing at the top of the group get a ticket to the quarter-finals and Katanec believes UAE have a great chance to be one of those sides, but he would have liked more than the five days he got to prepare the side for such a tough group.

"The plan was to start the camp on December 10, but it was not possible because the UFL (the organisation that runs the Pro League) wanted to play three more league games," he said after the goalless draw against Australia on Wednesday in their final friendly game before the tournament.

"It is very difficult because without preparing the fitness and integration properly, it is very tough and it provides problems.

"It is going to be a tough tournament and we have been drawn in a tough group. On paper, the other teams are better than us, which means there will not be much pressure on us.

"This will allow us to play good football and hopefully achieve our target of qualifying from the group. But we will not be looking at that - we will take one game at a time.

"The first match will be important. If we succeed in getting a good result, the atmosphere within the team will be different. Therefore it is important we get a good result [against North Korea], but we also have to ensure we continue at the same pace in the next two games."

Katanec took his team for a five-day camp in Oman on December 24. Ahmed Jumaa, the Al Jazira midfielder, Abdulaziz Haikal and Mohammed Ahmed - both from Al Shabab - were part of that squad, but have failed to find a place in the final 23 announced yesterday.

Keeping his spot is Saeed al Kas, the Al Wasl striker, who was added to the squad ahead of the two friendlies, in which the UAE beat Syria 2-0 on January 2 and battled for a goalless draw against Australia on Wednesday.

The team's performance against Australia and the success of the junior teams have raised the hopes of the UAE football fans, but Katanec feels there is a big difference between the two levels.

"The Under 17, Under 19 and Olympic team, the football is at a different level from the team that would play at the World Cup or the Asian Cup," he said. "All the national teams are the same, we know the rules.

"For the friendly matches, you get the players two days before the match and for the full international matches you can call them four days before the game.

"Now we have players coming through the youth team, they go to Germany and Spain to prepare because they have time. But at full national team, this is not an option. There is no opportunity to work on the fitness."

Despite these difficulties, Katanec has managed to turn around the fortunes of the team since taking charge in June 2009 after an embarrassing 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

"So far we have played 17 games and lost only four, so I am satisfied with the results achieved thus far," the Slovenian said.

"We are building a team for the future and we have seven or eight good players.

"With more exposure and the experience of playing at tournaments like the Asian Cup, I am sure the UAE will be able to achieve success and qualify for the World Cup."

* Additional reporting by Amith Passela and Gary Meenaghan