“Al-Abyad” is in Basra today in preparation for the “return” match…focusing on winning only

Today, the delegation of the UAE national football team leaves for the city of Basra, in preparation for facing the Iraqi team the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, at Basra International Stadium, as part of the return match in the Asian play-off that qualifies for the global play-off, which in turn qualifies for the 2026 World Cup finals.

The day before yesterday, the national team began its preparations for the return match by performing a training session at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in the presence of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, President of the Emirates Football Association, who was keen to meet with the players and members of the technical and administrative staff before the start of the training session, calling on the players to focus on the return match and achieve the required result that guarantees the final qualification ticket to the next stage.

Al-Abyad is expected to train today at Zayed Sports City Stadium before traveling to Basra, and will perform its main training session at Basra Stadium tomorrow, Monday, preceded by holding the technical meeting and the introductory press conference.

The first leg in Abu Dhabi ended in a 1-1 draw, which made Al-Abyad’s task difficult in the return match, in which there is no choice but to win to obtain the qualification ticket to the next stage, where the result of the match will determine the team that qualifies from the Asian continent to the global playoff, which will be held in Mexico next March.

During the preparations in Basra, the team’s technical staff, under the leadership of Romanian coach Olario Cosmin, is keen to address the gaps that appeared in the first-leg match, especially the defensive errors that allowed the Iraqi team to advance before “Al-Abyad” equalized through player Luan Pereira, in addition to focusing on special training in the offensive aspects as the team looks to win and compensate for the result of the first-leg match.

The technical staff had previously announced the inclusion of Sharjah goalkeeper Adel Al Hosani and Al Nassr defender Gustavo Alex to the national team roster.

The list of the national team delegation includes players: Khaled Issa, Ali Khasif, Hamad Al-Muqbali, Adel Al-Hosani, Robin Philippe, Richard Akonnor, Lucas Pimenta, Kwame Quido, Khalifa Al-Hammadi, Aladdin Zuhair, Marcos Meloni, Khaled Al-Dhanhani, Muhammad Rabie, Gustavo Alex, Yahya Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Luan Pereira, Majid Rashid, Gaston Suarez, Nicolas Jimenez, Ali Saleh, Hareb Abdullah, Yahya Al-Ghassani, Bruno Oliveira, Caio Lucas, Caio Canedo, Sultan Adel, Muhammad Awadallah.

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Public support

The Football Association announced the provision of five private planes to transport the national team’s fans to Basra to support the national team in this fateful confrontation.

The Union indicated, through its official page on the “X” platform, that registration will be opened for fans starting at four o’clock in the afternoon yesterday, Saturday, and that it will close when the required number is completed, with the aim of achieving the largest public support for Al-Abyad, during the return match, which will determine the possibility of its qualification to the next round in the World Cup playoff.