UAE replace Iraq in Group C for Asian Games

The UAE squad are currently in Malaysia preparing for the Asian Games which runs from August 10 to September 1. -Supplied photo

The UAE Olympic team will take on China, Timor Leste and Syria in Group C in the men's football competition after a redraw took place following Iraq's withdrawal, at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Friday.
The UAE Under-23 team, coached by Maciej Skorza, were initially placed in Group E along with Korea Republic, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Bahrain after a first redraw saw them being left out along with Palestine.
But now, with Iraq withdrawing from the competition, which runs from August 10 to September 1 in Bandung, Indonesia, it left Group C with only three teams. With the AFC assisting the Olympic Council of Asia and the Indonesia Asian Games Organising Committee, another draw took place in the Malaysian capital to balance the groups.
The UAE and Palestine, who were initially not included in the first draw because of a computer glitch, according to the AFC, were placed in the Pot for a redraw following which UAE took Iraq's slot at the top of Group C.
"Representatives from participating member associations. As you would know we had conducted the draw for the men's football tournament on July 25. As a result of the draw, we have five teams in Group A and Group E whereas Group B, C, D, F have four teams each in the group," an AFC official said on Friday. 
"Now, the Olympic Council of Asia and Indonesia Asian Games Organising Committee confirmed the withdrawal of Iraq from the competition. Therefore, in order to secure the fair play and the fair calculation of the rankings among all the groups, the number of teams in all groups shall be the same or have minimum variancies. As of now, we have two groups of five teams and three groups of four teams and one group with three teams. But after the draw now, we will have one group of five teams and five groups of four teams to secure the fair play of the competition. Either A5 Palestine or E5 UAE will be drawn into the group with three teams which is Group C, replacing Iraq at the position No.1," he added.
After the draw, he said: "UAE will be in C1, while Palestine will remain in Group A."
The 23-man UAE squad are currently in Malaysia, concluding their preparations for the Asian Games. The UAE, who won the silver medal at the 2010 Games in Guangzhou, China, had reached the quarterfinals in the 2014 Games in Incheon, South Korea.
The UAE play Syria in their Group C opener at the Jalak Harupat Stadium in Soreang on August 14 followed by their second fixture against Timor Leste on August 16. Their final match of the Group is against China on August 19.
james@khaleejtimes.com
 
UAE SQUAD:
Shaheen Al Darmaki, Ahmed Al Ghelani, Abdulrahman Al Ameri, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Zayed Al Ameri, Ahmed Al Hashemi, Abdullah Al Noobi, Abdullah Juma, Hamad Al Jasmi, Majid Surour, Ismail Khamis, Ali Gamail, Hussain Abdullah, Mohammed Al Harashi, Mohammed Al Masmari, Jasem Al Beloushi, Rashid Omar, Mohammed Abdullah, Ahmed Hilal, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Salem Al Sharji, Khalid Bawazir, Sultan Al Mundari.
 
GROUPS:
Group A: Indonesia, Hong Kong, Laos, Chinese Taipei, Palestine.
Group B: Thailand, Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, Qatar.
Group C: UAE, China PR, Timor Leste, Syria.
Group D: Japan, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nepal.
Group E: Korea Republic, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Bahrain.
Group F: DPR Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Myanmar.