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UAE one of the best in Asia: Dollah Salleh

Abu Dhabi - Malaysia play their third game in World Cup qualifying when they come up against a superior UAE at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday night.

 Malaysia coach Dollah Salleh termed the UAE as one of the best in Asia with a special player in Omar Abdulrahman, and while not ruling out a surprise victory, he said that they would be more than happy with a draw.
Malaysia play their third game in World Cup qualifying when they come up against a superior UAE at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Thursday night. They drew their first game 1-1 against Timor Leste before a chastening 6-0 defeat at the hands of Palestine.
"We have heard a lot about the UAE. It is not going to be easy playing against them. I consider them as one of the best in Asia and they are one of strongest teams in Asia. They also have Omar (Abdulrahman), who is one of their best players. We will try to mark him well and make sure we don't give him space. But we will look to attack and not just defend. We will try to get a point from this game," Salleh said prior to the game, at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
"After losing 6-0 to Palestine, the players are looking to bounce back and give their best on Thursday," he added.
The 51-year-old, who is also their country's top scorer with 48 goals from 97 appearances, revealed that they didn't have enough time to prepare because their League had just come to an end. He was also worried about the ineffectiveness of his frontline.
Malaysia come into this Group A fixture on the back of a goalless draw against Bangladesh in a friendly, last Saturday.
"The first thing is that our players just finished the League and two teams are involved in the AFC Cup. There have been lot of injuries as well. So our preparations haven't gone according to plan. We also played a friendly against Bangladesh a couple of days ago and our strike force didn't score goals. So, that is one of our main problems," he said.
The UAE haven't been entirely convincing either, with a solitary goal win against Timor Leste in their opening game and an identical result against Myanmar in a friendly, last Friday.
Salleh admitted that it was a good time to play them but was also cautious saying the UAE would be tough in their backyard.
"I consider it a good time to play them but then, they are playing at home and they will be tough to beat," Salleh said.
Meanwhile, captain Safiq Rahim too echoed his coach saying that the UAE were one of the toughest teams in Asia and called for discipline from his teammates.
"The UAE are one of the toughest teams in Asia. But we will give our best. We will give our 100 percent and try to get a positive result. We will have to give our full performance, full concentration and discipline. The most important thing is discipline," the midfielder said.
james@khaleejtimes.com