UAE edge past Iraq ahead of Gulf Cup campaign in Kuwait

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The UAE National team defeated Iraq 1-0 in their last warm-up match before leaving for Kuwait to take part in the 23rd Gulf Cup, starting from Friday.

Ahmad Malallah grabbed a chance inside the box in 39th minute to score a morale boosting winner in the last friendly under Alberto Zaccheroni.

"The match against Iraq was different from the first two match against Haiti and Uzbekistan," Zaccheroni was quoted in Arabic media.

"We faced a team preparing to take part in the Gulf Cup like us and we benefited a lot from that experience the Italian coach added.

"We were the best in the first half and had several opportunities, wish we could have translated more chances into goal except one," he said, adding that the Iraqis looked more focussed in the second half.

"We are adopting a new tactical approach,"' he pointed out and added that focus on fine tuning both attacking and defensive game was the priority rather than scoring goals.

The 64-year-old Zaccheroni Italian coach finalized the team that will look to win their third title in the tournament that is contested by the six GCC nations and Iraq and Yemen. Al Jazira goalkeeper Ali Khaseif,, who kept the famed Real Madrid stars at bay for a long time during the Abu Dhabi team's Fifa Club World Cup clash in Abu Dhabi, has been left out due to an injury he picked up during the Fifa tournament last week.

However, another Al Jazira star, Ahmed Khalil , Asian Footballer-of-the-Year in 2015, has been recalled, according to an announcement by the UAE Football Association on their tweeter account.

The UAE, 2007 and 2013 Champions, open their campaign in the Gulf Cup against neighbours Oman in Group A and then play the World Cup-bound Saudi Arabia before taking on hosts Kuwait in the concluding round robin league match.

Meanwhile, the The Technical Committee of the Gulf football Cup released the schedule of the matches of the tournament, to be held between Dec 22 and Jan 5.

UAE Team: Mohammad Hassan, Khalid Easa, Sultan Al Montheri, Mohammad Ahmad, Khalifa Mubarak, Faris Juma, Muhannad Al Enazi, Mohammad Al Menhali, Salem Al Azizi, Esmail Ahmad, Mahmoud Khamis, Mohammad Marzouq, Mohammad Fawzi, Ahmad Burman, Mohammad Abdul Rahman, Khamis Esmail, Rayan Yaslam, Esmail Al Hammadi, Ali Salmeen, Omar Abdul Rahman, Ahmad Mal Allah, Ali Mabkhout, Ahmad Al Hashemi

Schedule Group A

22 December 2017 18:30

Kuwaitv Saudi Arabia at Jaber International Stadium,Kuwait City

22 December 2017 21:00

Omanv UAE at Jaber International Stadium,Kuwait City

25 December 2017

17:30

UAE v Saudi Arabia Jaber International Stadium,Kuwait City

25 December 2017 20:00

Omanv Kuwait Jaber International Stadium,Kuwait City

28 December 2017 18:30

Saudi Arabia v Oman Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium,Kuwait City

28 December 2017 18:30

Kuwait v United Arab Emirates Jaber International Stadium,Kuwait City

Group B

23 December 2017 17:30

Qatar v Yemen Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium,Kuwait City

23 December 2017 20:00

Bahrain v Iraq Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium,Kuwait City

26 December 2017 17:30

Yemen v Bahrain Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium,Kuwait City

26 December 2017 20:00

Iraq v Qatar Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium,Kuwait City

29 December 2017 18:30

Qatar v Bahrain Jaber International Stadium,Kuwait City

29 December 2017 18:30

Iraq v Yemen Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium,Kuwait City

Semi-finals

2 January 2018

Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B

Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A

Final

5 January 2018

Winner SF1 v Winner SF2

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