Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
With January’s AFC U23 Championship edging ever closer, join the-afc.com as we continue our look at the teams who will be vying for honours in Qatar, at a tournament that also doubles as the qualifiers for the men’s football tournament at the 2016 Olympic Games.
UAE
An air of positivity breezed through UAE football in 2015, with the year beginning with a third-place finish at the AFC Asian Cup and ending as Dubai side Al Ahli emerged runners-up in the AFC Champions League, and fans will hope this feel-good factor continues in the new year at the AFC U23 Championship.
The UAE ensured they would being making the short trip to neighbouring Qatar by topping Group D of the qualifiers ahead of Tajikistan, Sri Lanka, and Yemen, who qualified alongside the Emiratis as one of the five best runners-up.
Their qualification quest began with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Sri Lanka and after following their opening win over the South Asians with a 3-0 defeat of Tajikistan, Saif Rashid’s second-half strike was enough to see the Group D hosts edge Yemen in a tight top-of-the-table clash.
The UAE have been pooled in Group D of the AFC U23 Championship finals where they will meet Australia, debutants Vietnam, and Jordan, who defeated the UAE in the quarter-finals of the inaugural tournament.
It was a particularly young squad that represented their country at the what was then the AFC U-22 Championship and the majority of the side that featured in Oman are still eligible to play this time around, giving the UAE plenty of experience to call upon in Qatar.
UAE’s Group D Fixtures
January 14: UAE v Australia (Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha)
January 17: UAE v Jordan (Suhaim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha)
January 19: UAE v Vietnam (Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha)