Al Ain defender gets Bathenay call

The UAE coach Dominique Bathenay has named uncapped Mohannad al Enazi in the squad for their 2010 World Cup qualifier match against Iran, on Nov 19, at Al Nasr's Al Maktoum Stadium. The Al Ain defender will be joined by Mohammed Qassim, the Al Ahli fullback who returns to national duty after recovering from a leg injury. They have been included as cover for the suspended Al Wahda player Basheer Saeed. The Frenchman Bathenay also recalled Al Ahli's Ali Abbas and Ain's Ali al Wehaibi. The captain Abdulraheem Jumaa (injury) and Subait Khater (suspended), both return after missing last month's 4-1 loss to South Korea in Seoul. But Helal Saeed, who also missed the last game because of suspension, has been left out due to injury. The UAE has had a terrible run so far, losing all three games, and another defeat would bring the curtain down on their dreams of travelling to South Africa. South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea are all on four points each with the UAE yet to get off the mark. The top two placed teams earn automatic qualification with the third placed team going into a play-off.

Squad: Majed Nasser, Obaid al Tawilah, Faris Jumaa, Mohannad al Enazi, Mohammed Qassim, Abdulla Malallah, Adel Abdulaziz, Haider Ali, Waleed Abbas, Abdulraheem Jumaa, Ali Abbas, Subait Khater, Ahmed Dada, Ali al Wehaibi, Ismail al Hammadi, Ismail Matar, Mohammed al Shehhi, Obaid Khalifa, Nawaf Mubarak, Mohammed Ibrahim. apassela@thenational.ae