Four Arab nations enter the race for a place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as Group A of the Asian Qualifiers gets underway on Thursday with the UAE hosting Lebanon, Iraq traveling to South Korea and Syria playing Iran in Tehran.
A packed Zabeel Stadium awaits the Whites after the UAE Football Association announced on Tuesday that tickets for their opening encounter have sold out, with attendance capped at 60 percent of the stadium capacity for safety reasons in light of the pandemic. With a sizeable Lebanese community in Dubai, the away end is also expected to see vocal support for the Cedars.
Under Dutch manager Bert van Marwijk, the UAE bounced back from two early defeats to find its form after the qualifiers restarted in June. A run of four wins against Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam saw the team score 15 goals and concede just three times, including two late goals in the final group match against Vietnam with victory already bagged.
Al-Wahda winger Khalil Al-Hammadi was a late withdrawal from the squad after suffering an injury in training, with the 28-year-old having played an important role in the qualifiers journey so far. His replacement, 2020-21 UAE Pro League Young Player of the Year Ali Saleh, is one of the country’s most exciting prospects and will relish the opportunity of making an impact on the home ground of his club side Al-Wasl.
The UAE made their only appearance on the global stage in Italy in 1990 with the golden generation of Adnan Al-Talyani, Muhsin Musabah and company winning the qualification ticket in a centralized group that was played in Singapore, edging out the likes of Saudi Arabia, China and Qatar to join South Korea in the finals.
Thursday’s opponents Lebanon are on the rise, making a second consecutive appearance at this stage, and are led by Ivan Hasek, a man who knows UAE football more than most. The Czech coach spent a decade coaching various clubs in the UAE Pro League including Fujairah, where he first linked up with current Lebanon captain Hassan Maatouk to devastating effect in 2014-15.
Just like the UAE, Iraq is another side hoping to repeat past glories, having made their FIFA World Cup debut at Mexico 1986, bettering two of their upcoming opponents, the UAE and Syria, on the way to qualification. Both the UAE and Iraq were drawn in the same group four years earlier, finishing fourth and fifth respectively as Japan and Saudi Arabia took the two direct tickets to Russia 2018.
This time around, the Lions of Mesopotamia impressed in Group C, going unbeaten until the final matchday in which they lost 1-0 to Iran with progress to the third round already secured. A managerial change ensued in the three months since then, with veteran Dutchman Dick Advocaat replacing Slovenian Srecko Katanec at the helm, and the 73-year-old is set to begin his mission at the home of his former employers South Korea, whom he had led in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
One of the first changes Advocaat made to the squad was recalling Iraqi diaspora players who had been frozen out by his predecessor, including US-born Justin Meram and Denmark-born Frans Putros while Sweden-born Amir Al-Ammari could be set for a debut. Meanwhile, Iraq will have to do without the services of two experienced goalkeepers as Al-Zawraa’s Jalal Hassan and Al-Shorta’s Mohammed Hameed were withdrawn with injuries.
Out of the four Arab nations competing in Group A, it was Syria who came closest to reaching the World Cup four years earlier. The Qasioun Eagles defied the odds to finish third in their group of the 2018 qualifiers, setting up a play-off against Australia.
Star striker Omar Al-Somah scored late to secure a 1-1 draw in the home leg played in Malaysia, and a week later a 1-1 draw in Sydney at the end of 90 minutes meant the two teams had to be separated by an additional half an hour of football in which Tim Cahill put the Socceroos in front. With the very last kick of the ball, Al-Somah beat the Australian wall and goalkeeper Matt Ryan with a splendid freekick only to watch in agony as the ball struck the upright and went behind, ending the Syrian dreams.
Al-Somah is expected to miss out on the opening match of Syria’s road to Qatar 2022 as they take on an Iranian side also deprived of the services of its star forward Sardar Azmoun, who serves a one-match suspension.
Just like Iraq and Lebanon, Syria made a managerial change following the end of the previous round with Tunisian Nabil Maaloul, who led the team to pip China at the top of their group, making way for veteran coach Nizar Mahrous who returns for a third spell in charge of his country’s national team.
Hoping to replicate the heroics of four years ago, Mahrous has recalled another big name in 2017 Asian Player of the Year Omar Kharbin, who had been frozen out after falling out with the two previous managers. A clean slate for the Al-Wahda striker is expected to lessen the pain of losing Al-Somah for the first game.
Like Iraq, Syria is set to play its home games in the Qatari capital Doha for security reasons.
For the four Arab nations competing in this group, South Korea and Iran will be seen as ones to beat if they are to snatch one of the two direct qualification tickets, and a winning start in the two matchdays taking place over the next week will go a long way to provide a strong foundation to build on in the road to Qatar 2022.
