“We have good knowledge of Uzbekistan, having played them in friendly matches before. As everyone has noticed, Uzbek football has been developing remarkably recently. For our part, we will focus on ourselves and try to play without pressure,” said Salem.

“As it is well known, ambition in football is endless. Our focus is to achieve victory in the next match.”

An 87th minute goal from Hazaa Faisal Madhi proved priceless for the Emiratis to continue their journey in the competition, and also seal a berth at the FIFA U17 World Cup Qatar 2025.

But it has been a challenging journey for UAE in Taif. 

They had to deal with personal tragedy after their team doctor Dr. Abdullah Baroun passed away before the opening match against Japan, which affected the players’ preparation and they lost 4-1.

But UAE bounced back admirably against Australia with a 2-0 victory, before getting the required result against Vietnam.

The West Asian side will, however, go into a showdown with  a free-flowing Uzbekistan, who have already scored nine goals.

No other team has scored more than the Central Asians, a threat which UAE will have to nullify.

Asilbek Aliev and Jamishidbek Rustamov have led the way and will be out to add to their respective tallies of three and two strikes respectively.

Uzbekistan head coach Islombek Ismoilov chose to keep his cards close to his chest.

“Whoever our opponents are, we are ready to play against. We have our own idea, gameplan and system that we are ready to use depending on our opponents. Even during preparations and training camps, our main goal has always been to come here and be champions,” he said.

Uzbekistan, who won the AFC U17 title in 2012, have excelled in recent age-group competitions. 

They were champions at the AFC U20 Asian Cup in 2023, and finished runners-up at the AFC U23 Asian Cup in 2022 and 2024.

Venue: King Fadh Sports City Stadium (Taif)

Kick-off: Sunday, 20:15 (UTC+3)