UAE coach Ali backs strikers to breach Japanese defence

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DPA ©

UAE's head coach Mahdi Ali

 United Arab Emirates coach Mahdi Ali has backed his
explosive frontline to end Japan's run of clean sheets at the Asian
Cup when the sides meet in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The reigning champions Japan have not yet conceded in this tournament
but the UAE attack has looked one of the most fluent in Australia,
with creative midfielder Omar Abdulrahman feeding strikers Ali
Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil.
"I hope that we score first goal tomorrow," Ali told a news
conference in Sydney on Thursday. "Of course maybe the Japan team has
not been tested very much in the last three games but tomorrow's game
is different.
"We play different football to others who have played against Japan.
And we will try to do our best to score tomorrow."
Japan are not only strong at the back but in the shape of Keisuke
Honda, who leads the team with three goals, and Shinji Kagawa they
have attacking players who feature at the highest level in Italy and
Germany.
"I think Japan have good players, most are in Europe, experienced
players with good mentality, good technique and good tactical
awareness," Ali said. "We have studied Japan and hope to do our best
to stop their key players in the game."
In contrast, the UAE have not one player plying his daily trade
outside of their home continent.
That could change in the case of Abdulrahman with a host of clubs,
including English champions Manchester City, rumoured to be watching
the fleet-footed creator in this tournament.
"I think we are concentrating on our game tomorrow, not thinking
about Manchester City or any player going to play abroad," Ali
cautioned.
"Omar already said he is focused on these games. But for us it would
be very good to see our players playing in Europe. He's a very
talented player with a good future and we hope to see him in Europe
very soon."
The UAE have a healthy squad to choose from with only Walid Abbas
unavailable having been booked twice in the group stage. Abdulaziz
Haikal will replace him in the defence as the team looks to
capitalize on reaching the knock-out phase for the first time since
1996.
"When I took the team two years back our aim was to reach the
semi-final," Ali said. "We are very close and will fight very hard to
reach our goal tomorrow."