The Malaysians will be the first of four Southeast Asian teams UAE face on the road to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 and three points will set the West Asians up nicely for a gruelling campaign.
Bert Van Marwijk's squad have left no stone unturned in ensuring they are well prepared, with UAE having set up base in Kuala Lumpur since September 4 with a training camp in Bahrain prior to that.
Midfielder Ali Salmeen said a positive start is very important for the UAE.
“The match against Malaysia is very important because it is the opening match for us,” said Al Wasl midfielder. “Having a positive result will increase our confidence and it will give us a boost.”
Salmeen expects a tough campaign with the UAE also having to face Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
“All the teams have big ambition and desire to qualify from the group and that makes our task very hard.”
Malaysia will be formidable opponents, having shown great character to defeat Indonesia 3-2 in their opening match in Jakarta last Thursday.
Goalkeeper Khalid Eisa said Van Marwijk, who will be making his competitive debut in the UAE dug-out, has done a lot of positive work with the players.
“The coaching team did a great job and now it is our turn to have a good performance,” said Al Ain custodian.
“We are ready for our first challenge in the Qualifiers,” he added. “We are in the second round and we want to top the group in order to qualify to the final round of the Qualifiers.”
UAE finished as semi-finalists in the AFC Asian Cup 2019 on home soil while their sole appearance in the FIFA World Cup Finals was in 1990.
Photos: UAE Football Association, Football Association of Indonesia
Related News
- AFC Asian Qualifiers
Matchday Two: Five things to look out for
- AFC Asian Qualifiers
Draw with Vietnam an acceptable result, says Thailand's Nishino
- AFC Asian Qualifiers
This is for Malaysia, says Sumareh
- AFC Asian Qualifiers
Matchday 1: Results & Reports
- AFC Asian Qualifiers
MD1 - Group G: Thailand 0-0 Vietnam
