03/03/2014 AL WASL 2-3 AL NASR: BLUES GET BRAGGING RIGHTS Al Nasr took the bragging rights in the Bur Dubai derby with a 3-2 win over local rivals Al Wasl at the Zabeel Stadium. Goals from Ibrahima Toure, Khalifa Mubarak and Ali Al Ameri had given the Blues a comfortable lead but a Saeed Al Katheeri brace almost salvaged something for Al Wasl. The result meant nothing to either team in terms of UAE League Cup progression, with both unable to qualify in the competition before the match started. AL AHLI 1-1 AL SHABAB: AL AHLI TO FACE SHARJAH AWAY Al Ahli needed a late equaliser from Ciel to draw with Al Shabab in a local derby in the final group match of the UAE League Cup. The result, coupled with the fact that Al Dhafra won at Emirates, means Al Ahli qualify in 2nd position in Group B and will face an away tie at Sharjah in the semi-final. EMIRATES 0-4 AL DHAFRA: MISFER’S MEN END TOP OF GROUP B Al Dhafra secured a home semi-final in the UAE League Cup with a 4-0 win at Emirates to finish top of Group B with 15 points. Al Dhafra will have home advantage against Al Jazira in the semis thanks to a brace from Hamad Raqea and goals from Makhete Diop and Abdelrahim Hussain.
Team UAE touch down safely in Tashkent Tashkent – Monday March 3, 2014: The UAE senior national team carry out their final training session at the Buynokor Stadium here on Tuesday which is also the match venue for the final Group-E 2015 Australia AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers clash of the UAE against hosts Uzbekistan on Wednesday. The players took few hours rest before they went to stretch their legs at Jar Stadium. The training session was attended by the UAE ambassador and the official and administrative delegation besides a few number of UAE students in Tashkent. The workout covered some tactical and technical aspects for midfielders and strikers. All players took part.
Pro-League Cup semis scheduled Dubai/ March 4, 2014: The Pro-League Committee has set Saturday March 15, 2014 for the semifinals of the Pro-League Cup. Al Dhafra host Al Jazira at Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium in the western region at 5.50pm while Sharjah entertain Al Ahli three hours later (8.30pm) at Sharjah Stadium on the same day.
UAE face Uzbekistan in Tashkent Tashkent: Tuesday March 4, 2014: The UAE senior football national team lock horns against fellow qualifiers Uzbekistan in the final round of the 2015 Australia AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Bunyodkor Stadium here on Wednesday. The match is set to kick off at 4pm UAE time. According to the UAE head coach Mahdi Ali, both teams have already qualified for the AFC Asian Cup finals and this will give them the chance to play some attacking football. “We are looking forward to maintain our winning streak in the qualifiers which we have started last year. There are many changes since we met in March of the previous year in the UAE. We have made some changes in order to give new players the chance to show up. “Most of our players are youngsters and the average age is 24 years. The players have been together for the last nine years, so nobody can say they are less experienced. They have played more than 50 matches,” he added. “The match is very important for us. We need to win, but at the same time we must play balanced game. All possibilities are open in Wednesday’s encounter,” he confirmed. “I have called up four new players for the match and it is a big challenge for them and I hope it will be good motivation for them as well. “Uzbekistan will also have some changes with the some young players. The season also has not started in Uzbekistan, but both teams are ready to play.” Uzbekistan coach Mirdjalal Kasimov who’s delighted to know that his keeper Ignatiy Nesterov will start against long-time rivals UAE after having recovered from a knee injury. He said: “The UAE is a strong team and they have been growing for several years. We played well in the UAE, but we lost,” said Kasimov, who saw his side lose 2-1 in Abu Dhabi in March last year. “It is still the start of the new season in Uzbekistan, but we will try to play well and achieve a victory.”
Uzbekistan 1-1 UAE Tashkent – Mahdi Ali guided the UAE lads to a well-deserved 1-1 away draw against hosts Uzbekistan in the final round of the group stage of the 2015 Australia AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Buyondkor Stadium in Tashkent on Wednesday. Al Hammadi struck for the UAE in the 67th minute and Sergeev leveled for the home team in the 85th minute. Uzbekistan were reduced to 10-man in the injury time of the tough clash. Tukhtakhujaev was booked twice and shown the way by the Korean referee with only three minutes remaining. - UAE started with Ali Khusaif, Walid Abbas, Habib Fardan, Ali Mabkhout, Hamdan Al Kamali, Ahmed Khalil, Khamis Ismail, Abdul Aziz Sanqoor, Ahmed Khamis, Majid Hassan, Ismail Ahmed. - Ismail Al Hammadi, Mohammed Abdul Rahman and Saleh Salim were sent in by the head coach in the second half.
Semi Final 15/03/2014 The first semi-final will see Al Dhafra host Al Jazira at the Hamdan bin Zayed Stadium, kicking off at 5:50pm, and Sharjah will welcome Al Ahli to the Sharjah Stadium at 8:30pm on the same day. Sharjah gained home advantage in the semi-final by finishing top of Group A with 16 points, whilst opponents Al Ahli qualified in second place in Group B with 11 points. Al Dhafra topped Group B with 15 points to host their semi-final against Al Jazira, who progressed with 12 points in Group A’s second spot.
NASL champion Cosmos take on UAE Arabian Gulf League's Al Wasl on Tuesday. The New York Cosmos will hit the pitch for their second preseason match Tuesday as club continues its two-week training stint in Dubai. The Cosmos will play Al Wasl of the UAE Arabian Gulf League in an international friendly Tuesday morning at Zabeel Stadium. Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. EST. Al Wasl currently sits in 10th place in the Arabian Gulf League. "Al Wasl is going to be another good test for us," Cosoms head coach Giovanni Savarese said. "We went over some things we didn't like in the last game, so now we want to see the players improving and learning and of course having better fitness. Now we've been here in Dubai for a few days and become acclimated to the weather and time change, so I think this will be a good game. It's is a friendly, but we still want to play well and win, so hopefully we can do that." The Cosmos' first preseason match was a 1-0 loss at the hands the Arabian Gulf League's second-place team, Al Shabab Al Arabi. Despite multiple scoring chances from the Cosmos, Al Shabab took the match on the strength of goal from striker Edgar Bruno.
UAE to build massive new stadium as they step up Asian Cup bid The UAE Football Association outlined their bid to host the 2019 Asian Cup last night, which would include a brand new 60,000-seat stadium in Dubai. The Dubai Sports Council (DSC) funded facility is expected to be ready by 2018 and would be located close to Dubai Sports City, where games would also be played at the Cricket Stadium. A smaller 25,000-seat stadium currently under construction in Sports City will also be included as a stand-by venue. With the 2019 tournament set to be expanded to 24 teams, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) require bidding nations to have six suitable stadia and an eight-man delegation, headed by Dr Tran Quoc Tuan, were also shown potential venues in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The capital plans to hold games at Zayed Sports City and the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, while the Garden City would stage matches at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium and Khalifa International Stadium. The UAE are competing against bids from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Thailand for the right to host the Asian Cup for the second time, and first since 1996, but UAEFA board member Yousef Khouri believes their experience at hosting top class sporting events gives them an advantage. “The last time we hosted this event was in 1996 and after that we longed to host it again,” he said. “The UAE is known for hosting big events in all areas, especially football.” The UAE most recently hosted the FIFA Under-17 World Cup last winter, and Al Khouri added: “I think by the end of the year we could host the 2015 Asian Cup, but I hope we will be lucky and host the 2019 Asian Cup.” The delegation returns to Malaysia today before they visit Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Iran in April. They will then file their reports on each country in May, when the official bids have to be submitted. There is scope for a second inspection with the decision on who will host the 2019 Cup expected at November’s AFC Executive Committee meeting.
AL AIN 3-1 TRACTORSAZI TABRIZ – AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 18/03/2014 An Asamoah Gyan double sandwiched a goal from Mohamed Abdulrahman to give Al Ain a 3-1 home victory over Tractorsazi Tabriz at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday night. The victory propels Al Ain to top spot in Group C of the AFC Champions League with 6 points from their opening three group games. ESTEGHLAL 2-2 AL JAZIRA – AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 18/03/2014 Al Jazira recorded an impressive 2-2 draw away at Esteghlal in the AFC Champions League to keep the UAE side top of Group A with 7 points after three matches in the competition this season. Two goals from Abdelaziz Barrada had twice put Walter Zenga’s men ahead in an entertaining encounter, but Esteghlal fought back each time through Mohammad Ghazi and Omranzadeh to share the spoils.
SEPAHAN 1-2 AL AHLI - AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 19/03/2014 Al Ahli scored two spectacular goals in Sepahan to defeat the Iranian side 2-1 in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday night. Ahmad Khalil’s 35-yard rocket was cancelled out by an equaliser from Sergio van Dijk, but substitute Ismaeel Al Hamadi hit a winner for the visitors from Dubai in the final minute of injury time. Al Ahli now have 5 points from their opening 3 fixtures in Group D, temporarily moving them to the top spot with Al Sadd and Al Hilal still playing at the time of publishing. Ahmad Khalil’s 35-yard rocket
Al Ahli tightened their grip on the title with a thrilling 3-2 win away at Al Ain’s new Hazza bin Zayed Stadium The Abu Dhabi derby treated spectators to 8 goals in a breathless 4-4 draw between near neighbours Al Jazira and Al Wahda Al Shabab kept up their quiet pursuit at the top-end of the table, staying 2nd with a 1-0 win over Al Dhafra Ajman came out on top in a relegation crunch against Al Shaab, winning 2-1 to move a step closer to safety Bani Yas managed to stop the rot and get back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory at home to Emirates Sharjah and Al Nasr failed to break the deadlock between them for the second time this season, playing out a 0-0 There was another 0-0 draw in Saturday’s Dubai derby between Al Wasl and Dubai at the Zabeel Stadium
Cool thread.. some action I got from last year's game between Al Ain and Al Sharjah back in their old stadium.... their new stadium must be great...
Balanced draw, no change in program says Mahdi Ali Sydney/ Wednesday March 26, 2014: The UAE head coach Mahdi Ali said the AFC Asian Cup 2015 Australia draw was balanced for all the groups though he didn’t wish to see three Arab countries in the same group. “The preparations program of the national team will remain unchanged,” he confirmed. UAE has been drawn alongside Iran, Qatar and Bahrain
Very doable group for UAE... they beat these teams in the Gulf Cup, can probably do it again next year.... The game against Iran should be a good one and important for avoiding Japan in the quarters... still could have been a much worse draw...
AFC Champions League 2014 Teraktor Sazi Tabriz (Iran) 2-2 Al Ain Al Jazira 0-1 Esteghlal Tehran (Iran) Al Ahli 0-0 Sepahan (Iran)
Al Ahli will need 1 point only from the struggling AlWasl, also the Al Wasl was the only team who was able to beat Al Ahli in the league this season, Gyan trys to stay on top of the goal scoring list and stay healthy for Brazil.
Thursday 10th AprilAL AHLI v AL WASL 8:30pm, Rashid Stadium, Dubai Round 23 of the Arabian Gulf League could see this season’s Champions mathematically confirmed as Al Ahli host Al Wasl, needing only a point to take the 2013/14 title. All eyes will be on this match as Al Ahli go up against the only team to have beaten them on the pitch in the League this season, and if the Red Knights can avoid a repeat of their 2-1 loss in Round 10 the title race will officially be concluded. Al Ahli will have to do without the injured Luis Jimenez and Abdulaziz Sanqour for the game. AL SHAAB v AL AIN 5:55pm, Khaled bin Mohamed Stadium, Sharjah Al Shaab sit bottom of the table and seven points adrift from safety with four games remaining, but a win against last season’s champions Al Ain could still keep their survival hopes alive. The visitors have endured a disappointing League season, although their form has picked up of late and a top-4 finish is still a possibility. EMIRATES v AL JAZIRA 5:50pm, Emirates Club Stadium, Ras Al Khaimah Emirates hover just above the drop zone and with only a four-point cushion, could still be in danger of getting dragged downwards. They host 3rd-placed Al Jazira, whose AFC Champions League exploits have taken a toll on their recent League form. Friday 11th AprilDUBAI v AL DHAFRA 5:55pm, Dubai SCC Stadium, Dubai Dubai looked dead and buried just a few rounds ago, but a string of stirring results has given the club renewed hope of staying up. Four points separate them from safety, and a win against 8th-placed Al Dhafra this round would certainly go a long way in spicing up the relegation battle. BANI YAS v SHARJAH 6pm, Baniyas Stadium, Abu Dhabi Bani Yas’ season has fizzled out after a strong start, and they will host a consistent Sharjah side who can boast the best defensive record in the League after being promoted to the top flight in the summer. However, only 6 points separate 4th-placed Sharjah from 9th-placed Bani Yas and with four games remaining the race for a top-four finish remains wide open. AL WAHDA v AJMAN 8:30pm, Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi Speared on by 20 goals from the League’s 2nd-top scorer Sebastian Tagliabue, Al Wahda now find themselves 5th and level on points with Sharjah. Ajman, who were previously in serious relegation danger, have successfully distanced themselves from the scrap at the bottom and now sit more comfortably in 11th place with 22 points. AL NASR v AL SHABAB 8:30pm, Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai Al Shabab let their title pursuit slip away but will still be keen to maintain their current second spot. Al Nasr, meanwhile, are still hopeful of a top-four finish, whilst both these Dubai sides have also progressed to the next stage in the GCC Club Cup.