The UAE have made good on their promise. They sent the perfect Eid gift to their fans back home with a resounding 4-0 win over Hong Kong in a key Asian Cup qualifier.
Ali Mabkhout scored three times and Walid Abbas added an injury-time strike as the UAE consolidated their lead in Group E, taking their total to nine points in three games with a win last night at the Hong Kong National Stadium.
The result extended the UAE’s lead to five points over Hong Kong and Uzbekistan, who registered their first win following a 3-1 home result over Vietnam.
Mahdi Ali, the UAE coach, still insisted his team’s ticket to 2015 Australia was far from over with three games left.
“We have accomplished the third step in this qualification,” he said. “We have three steps to go and we are near to qualifying, but in football, you never know.
“When you say you will win today or tomorrow, they’re easy words to say, but to win on the field isn’t so easy. We played well today and I hope that we can continue to play like this.
“It wasn’t an easy game against Hong Kong. They tried to close the space in the first half, but the players did well, we tried to create chances and wait for the right moment. We scored the first goal and then things went as we wished.
“I’m happy for the players and I hope we can keep the same level of performance in the next games.”
Mabkhout put the visitors ahead on the half hour when he stabbed home a left-footer from a long pass from Walid Abbas, which took a slight deflection off Wisdom Fofo’s boot and fell in the Al Jazira forward’s path. He doubled the lead 10 minutes into the second half, finding the target on his second attempt after his first shot at the Hong Kong goal was blocked by Lee Chi-ho.
Mabkhout’s treble came from space created by Omar Abdulrahman, and Abbas rounded off the victory with a fourth in injury time.
The three goals matched Mabkhout’s season total in Arabian Gulf League competition.
The margin of victory could have been bigger had Ahmed Khalil been on target with half the scoring opportunities that came his way. Khalil had six attempts from inside the box but could not get any past Yapp Hung Fai, the Hong Kong goalkeeper. “It’s a very disappointing result,” said Kim Pan-gon, the Hong Kong coach.
“Our players did well, they followed our instructions from the beginning but the UAE was a really high-quality attacking team.
“If we had stopped them for the first 45 minutes, it would have been better. But they’re at a different level. I appreciate what the players did and they kept fighting.
“But we still have a chance. We have three games left and we are aiming to get four points in our next three games. We need to get one point from our games before we go to Vietnam.”
apassela@thenational.ae
Report card
UAE created several chances and scored from half of them. 8/10
Hong Kong adopted a defensive strategy at the beginning but having conceded a first-half goal they had to open up. 3/10
Man of the match: Ali Mabkhout’s hat trick took his tally to nine goals in five games
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MATCH INFO
Hoffenheim v Liverpool
Uefa Champions League play-off, first leg
Location: Rhein-Neckar-Arena, Sinsheim
Kick-off: Tuesday, 10.45pm (UAE)
THE BIG MATCH
Arsenal v Manchester City,
Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm
Sunday's games
All times UAE:
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm
Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm
Everton v Watford, 8.30pm
Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
RESULTS
2.15pm Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner Shawall, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Majed Al Jahouri (trainer)
2.45pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Anna Bella Aa, Fabrice Veron, Abdelkhir Adam
3.15pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
3.45pm Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner Taajer, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
4.15pm The Ruler of Sharjah Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh250,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner Jawaal, Jim Crowley, Majed Al Jahouri
4.45pm Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Maqaadeer, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
Company%20Profile
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'Midnights'
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Wimbledon order of play on Saturday, July 8
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Centre Court (4pm)
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Timea Bacsinszky (19)
Ernests Gulbis v Novak Djokovic (2)
Mischa Zverev (27) v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 (4pm)
Milos Raonic (6) v Albert Ramos-Vinolas (25)
Anett Kontaveit v Caroline Wozniacki (5)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Jared Donaldson
Court 2 (2.30pm)
Sorana Cirstea v Garbine Muguruza (14)
To finish: Sam Querrey (24) leads Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 6-5
Angelique Kerber (1) v Shelby Rogers
Sebastian Ofner v Alexander Zverev (10)
Court 3 (2.30pm)
Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Dudi Sela
Alison Riske v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
David Ferrer v Tomas Berdych (11)
Court 12 (2.30pm)
Polona Hercog v Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Gael Monfils (15) v Adrian Mannarino
Court 18 (2.30pm)
Magdalena Rybarikova v Lesia Tsurenko
Petra Martic v Zarina Diyas
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
