UAE midfielder Omar Abdulrahman makes a move as Jorge Luis Pinto watches from the background. - (UAEFA Twitter)
Dubai - The Colombian met his new wards for the first time at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on Wednesday
Published: Thu 23 Jul 2020, 10:18 PM
Updated: Fri 24 Jul 2020, 12:26 AM
New UAE coach Jorge Luis Pinto met up with new wards for the first time on Wednesday and urged them to exert more effort ahead of the World Cup qualifiers in October and November.
The Colombian, who arrived in the country on Tuesday and was then officially unveiled at the UAE Football Association's headquarters at Al Khawaneej on Wednesday, quickly got down to work with his new lads.
The 67-year-old, who famously guided Costa Rica to the last eight of the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, had said during the unveiling that he was quite passionate about guiding the UAE to the World Cup in 2022.
The Whites will resume their qualifying campaign, which had been on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic, on October 8 with them playing at home to Malaysia.
They then travel to Indonesia to face The Garuda on October 13. The Whites then play Thailand at home on November 12 followed by another home fixture against Group G leaders Vietnam on November 17.
The 28-member squad were put through the paces at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on Wednesday. The closed camp, the first of three camps scheduled for The Whites, will run until Monday.
It also marked the first run-out for Caio Canedo, Fabio de Lima and Sebastian Tagliabue in UAE colours after the triumvirate were granted citizenship earlier this year.
The training was attended by Yousef Hussain Al-Sahlawi, the vice president of the UAE Football Association and head of the Team and Technical Affairs committee and other officials.
Pinto spoke to the players at length before he and his support staff oversaw training. It was a short session with the players warming up following a lengthy break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The intensity will increase as the days go by.
"I spoke to the players and urged them to show more effort during the coming period. We need to be prepared at the optimum for the qualifiers. We have to show the seriousness and the enthusiasm. I have full confidence in the capabilities of the players and their ability to provide their best during training despite the long break," said Pinto.
Pinto and his staff charted out the training programme for the rest of the camp, with morning and evening exercises pencilled in along with gym sessions and tactical plans.
The squad followed the current health protocols, which included medical tests, usage of face masks, gloves and social distancing during training.
The balls being used were sanitized on a regular basis.
The second camp to be held in Europe from August 1 to 23. During the camp, the squad are scheduled to play two friendly matches on Fifa match days with their opponents to be announced in due course.
The third and final camp will be held at home from August 31 to September 9 during which the UAE will play friendlies against Jordan on September 4 and Tajikistan on September 8.
SQUAD:
Goalkeepers: Khalid Eisa, Ali Khaseif, Adel Al Hosani, Mohamed Al Shamsi.
Defenders: Mohamed Barghash, Abdulaziz Haikal, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Marzooq, Mohammed Ahmed, Waleed Abbas, Ismail Ahmed, Yousef Jaber.
Midfielders: Majed Hassan, Tariq Ahmed, Khamis Ismail, Ahmed Barman, Ali Salim, Ali Saleh, Abdullah Ramadan, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Khalfan Mubarak, Omar Abdulrahman.
Forwards: Caio Canedo, Fabio de Lima, Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Khalil, Sebastian Tagliabue.
Coach: Jorge Luis Pinto.
james@khaleejtimes.com
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