AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL PREVIEW: AL AIN V AL HILAL Al Ain: The 2017 AFC Champions League quarter-finals kick off on Monday with a clash of the heavyweights between the United Arab Emirates’ Al Ain and Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia at Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium. Al Ain Since winning the inaugural edition of the revamped continental competition, Al Ain have twice returned to the final although have been unable to repeat the feat. But, after losing out to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in last year’s final, the Garden City side have come back in style by topping Group C ahead of Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli, Zobahan of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor. A first defeat arrived away at Esteghlal in the first leg of the last 16 but Zoran Mamic’s side rebounded superbly by reversing a 1-0 deficit to win 6-1 at home and 6-2 on aggregate. Captain Omar Abdulrahman has been in scintillating form and leads the scoring and assists charts, while Al Hilal will also have to be wary of Caio, the returning Douglas and new signing Marcus Berg in what is a strong-looking frontline Al Hilal Historically, Al Hilal have been one of the most successful clubs on the continent, yet a 2014 final defeat to Western Sydney Wanderers has been the closest the side has come to lifting the AFC Champions League. The Riyadh club have advanced to the knockout stages every year since 2009, continuing that trend in the current campaign by winning Group D ahead of Persepolis, Al Rayyan and Al Wahda. A pair of 2-1 victories over Esteghlal Khouzestanin the Round of 16 saw Al Hilal advance to the last eight with few problems but they will now face their sternest test yet against an in-form Al Ain. Like the Emiratis, Al Hilal have game-changers in the attacking third, with Syrian Omar Khribin, Brazilian Carlos Eduardo and Uruguayan Nicolas Milesi all threats in front of goal. Ones To Watch:
Al Ain v Al Hilal Venue: Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain Kick-off: August 21, 19:50 UTC+4 Get well soon Nawaf
World Cup Qualifiers Third round Tuesday, August 29, 8:30 PM Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain UAE vs Saudi Arabia
According to official FIFA documents set in place for FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification, 2 yellow card in previous round carry forward to next round of the same competition. This implies that 2 cautions received in Qualification Round 2 is carry forward to Round 3 hence, Tommy Rogic was ineligible to play in the match against Saudi Arabia in October last year which ended in a 2-2 draw and as law stands, that much will be forfeited (if claimed by Saudi Arabia) and will be awarded 3-0 victory to Saudi Arabia - if Saudi Arabia claims. According to below 2 links, following is the article articulating the law: http://resources.fifa.com/mm/docume...5_15-00638_101_en_en_june2016_gsa_neutral.pdf http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/50/02/75/discoinhalte.pdf Law 17 Caution 1. A caution (yellow card) is a warning from the referee to a player during a match to sanction unsporting behaviour of a less serious nature (cf. Law 12 of the Laws of the Game). 2. Two cautions received during the same match incur an expulsion (indirect red card) and, consequently, automatic suspension from the next match (cf. art. 18 par. 4). The two cautions that incurred the red card are rescinded. 3. If a player receives a caution in two separate matches of the same FIFA competition, he is automatically suspended from the next match in that competition. The Disciplinary Committee may exceptionally depart from or amend this rule before the start of a particular competition. Any such decision reached by the Disciplinary Committee is final. Tom Rogic had a yellow card against Jordan in 5-1 victory of Australia in Round 2, and then he had a yellow against UAE in 1-0 victory of Australia in Round 3 hence, he was not eligible to play against Saudi Arabia (whereas he played). Hence, this match can be forfeited if claimed by Saudi Arabia and 3-0 victory will be awarded to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia needs to claim this immediately. If above happens, Australia will be on 15 points instead of 16... And suddenly, UAE will be in contention to claim 3rd spot.
World Cup Qualifiers Third round Amman International Stadium, Amman Iraq vs UAE Players that will miss the game from UAE side: Injured: Ismail Ahmad (minor injury) Omar Abdulrahman Ismail Al Hamadi Hamdan Al Kamali Amir Abdulrahman Majed Hassan Suspended / Replacement: Ali Mabkhout / Ahmad Al Attas Khamies Ismail / Mohamad Abdulbasit Mahmoud Khamies / Khaled Abdulrahman
08/09/2017 AL WASL VS DIBBA AL DHAFRA VS AL JAZIRA AL WAHDA VS SHABAB ALAHLI 09/09/2017 SHARJAH VS EMIRATES AL NASR VS AJMAN
I predict Third place which we could have got if we didn't gift Thailand their goal and had better results at home games. second place is possible if we would replace China in group A instead of Uzbekistan Best scenario we might get from each team Iran: 1 Korea: 1 Syria: 4 China: 3 Qatar: 6 Iran: 20 Korea: 16 UAE 15 China: 12 Syria: 11 Qatar: 7 Worst scenario we might get from each team Iran: 0 Korea: 1 Syria: 3 China: 3 Qatar: 4 Iran: 22 Korea: 15 Syria: 13 UAE: 11 China: 10 Qatar: 8
AG Cup 08/09/2017 week 1 - results AL WASL 3-2 DIBBA AL DHAFRA 1-1 AL JAZIRA AL WAHDA 1-1 SHABAB ALAHLI
AL AIN FACE SAUDI ARABIA’S AL HILAL IN AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL ON MONDAY Arabian Gulf League representatives Al Ain face Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal in the return leg of the AFC Champions League quarter-final at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Monday evening. A score draw will be enough for Al Ain to progress to the semi-finals while a scoreless draw means the teams have to be split by penalty shootouts having drawn 0-0 at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in in the first leg.
Fujairah and Kalba Take the Lead in President Cup Preliminary Competition Dubai / Sunday, September 24th, 2017: the first round of Group 1 in the preliminary competition qualifying to President Cup was concluded yesterday, where Al Thaid won Al Hamriya 2 – 1, Al Fujairah thrashed Al Orooba 3 – 0, goal less draw of RAK and Al Arabi, Kalba smashed Khorfakan 3 – 0 and Baniyas defeated Dibba Al Hisin 2 – 1. In Group 1, Al Dhaid hosted Al Hamriya and succeeded in grabbing the three points following its 2 – 1 victory over the visiting team. Papa Wigo scored the two goals for Al Dhaid, while Markus Cilo scored for Hamriya. In the second match, Fujairah smashed Al Orooba 3 – 0, where the three goals were scored by Mayed, Haitham Al Matroushi and Ahmed Sabah at 41st, 85th and 90th minutes respectively. Masfout achieved difficult 2 – 1 victory over Masafi which return to 1st Division League once again. Naser Hassan kicked off the score for Masfout at minute 3 before Jasem Al Naeemi equalized for Masafi, but the same player succeeded once at minute 49 in scoring the second goal to secure the 3 points for Masfout. Group 2 matches, Kalba achieved great 3 – 0 victory over Khorfakan (previously known as Al Khaleej). The score started with opposite goal from Khorfakan defender Sultan Al Shehhi followed by other two goals scored by Tiago Santos and Manei. In another note, Baniyas snatched 3 points following its 2 – 1 win over Dibba Al Hisin, while the game of RAK and Al Arabi had ended in goalless draw.
UAE U-19 Loses Friendly to Ghana U-19 Team to Face Mali Next Monday Dubai / Sunday, September 24th, 2017: UAE U-19 National Team lost its friendly versus Ghana, 0 – 4. The math was staged in Thiyab Awana Pitch yesterday in preparation for AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers scheduled in Kyrgyzstan from 31 October to 8 November 2017. The players Menisa (minute 7), Amino Mohamed (minte 55), Sadiq Ibrahim (minute 65) and Mohamed Idris (minute 82) had score Ghana 4 goals. The coach started the match with Salem Khairi (goalkeeper); Omar Ahmed, Sultan Saeed, Fahad Mohamed and Nahyan Adel in the defense; Mohanad Ahmed, Yousuf Ayman, Omar Saeed, Rashid Salem in the midfield; and Khalfan Al Noobi and Ahmed Fouzi as strikers. The Black Stars commenced the game with strong pressure, taking advantage of physical strength of their players who are well prepared for FIFA U-17 World Cup in India. The White defense stood in alert for only 7 minutes to receive the first goal. The domination of Black Stars continued in the second half to add other three goals. The White will face Mali on 25 September and Guinea on 29 September before commencing the qualifier groups which includes Bahrain, Oman, Napal and Kyrgyzstan, besides UAE. The winners of all groups in addition to the best 5 runners-up teams will qualify to the finals.
ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE // ROUND 3 29/09/2017 EMIRATES VS HATTA AL WAHDA VS AL DHAFRA AL AIN VS SHABAB ALAHLI
ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE // ROUND 3 Results EMIRATES 4-0 HATTA AL WAHDA 3-1 AL DHAFRA AL AIN 2-1 SHABAB ALAHLI