Look to reach AFC Asian Cup final and win title, says UAE team manager

Alberto Zaccheroni, manager of the UAE national team asserted today that reaching the final and making the Emirati fans happy is the ultimate aim of the players, when they begin their semi-final match in the AFC Asian Cup "UAE 2019" tomorrow at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

He said that the team had been developing continuously in its journey in the championship while affirming that in tomorrow’s match the concentration of the players will be high and so will their determination. The fans will remain the main source of strength for the team and their goal is to win the title, he added.

He stated that the AFC Asian Cup "UAE 2019" is totally different from the AFC Asian Cup in 2011, during which he led the Japanese national team to the title. The current edition of the championship has been characterised as a peer-to-peer competition in all matches and making a decision about them was difficult because every minor detail mattered.

Hoping to see Mohammed Ahmed and Khalifa Mubarak recovering quickly from their injuries, Zaccheroni said the UAE team today has 21 players who have the desire and enthusiasm to reach the final.

The manager expressed his condolences at the beginning of the press conference to the Australia player, Awer Mabil, on his sister's passing.

Ali Salmin, a UAE team player, said during the press conference that the players’ ambition was to reach the final and win the title, and hoped that the fans would continue to support them as vociferously as they had earlier, especially in their match against Australia.

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