Khalid Essa and the UAE’s Incredible Support Bring Them Closer to World Cup Dream in Qatar
Alhamdulillah, after Khalid Essa’s amazing performance as goalkeeper kept the UAE’s hopes alive for World Cup qualification, he shared that he had to speak with the leader of the UAE’s passionate supporters at the stadium during their tense match against Oman, asking for their help.
Doha rarely sees the kind of scenes that greeted the UAE’s final push for a spot in next year’s World Cup in North America. On Friday, a large group of Emirati fans arrived in the Qatari capital ahead of their first match in the three-team qualifier playoff.
They filled Souk Waqif, the old market in the south of the city center, lighting flares, waving flags, and singing songs to cheer on their team. It reminded many of how Argentine fans took over the city when their team won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Now, the UAE is just one game away from joining that event next summer in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, after beating Oman 2-1 on Saturday night.
Finishing the job won’t be easy. They need to avoid losing against Qatar on Tuesday, a team that will have had three more days of rest.
Also, the UAE’s fan presence at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium will be limited to about 1,000 people. Even though the tournament is supposed to be neutral, FIFA allowed Qatar to host and gave them 90% of the tickets for their fans.
This means the atmosphere will be very different from the Oman game, where UAE’s full 5,000 tickets sold out quickly.
Fans arrived two hours before kickoff, with many sitting in aisles and walkways by game time.
At first, the UAE players seemed overwhelmed by the high expectations. Oman controlled the early part of the match and went into halftime leading 1-0.
The turning point came when coach Cosmin Olaroiu made a bold move at halftime, bringing in experienced players Caio Canedo and Yahia Nader, along with young forward Harib Abdallah. This shifted the momentum.
Their hard work paid off in the 74th minute with a header by Marcus Meloni from a left-wing cross.
The winning goal came in the 83rd minute when Caio Lucas sent a cross that went past everyone into the Oman net.
But it took two incredible saves from Essa to hold on to the win amid intense tension in the stands.
After the match, Essa said he spoke to the capo, or main supporter, asking for help.
"We’ve played big games with big crowds, and after the game I went to the lead fan to talk," Essa said.
"A match lasts 90 minutes. You might concede a goal, but who motivates the players? It’s the fans.
When we conceded, the Emirati fans got quiet and started showing frustration. I told them after the match to support us the entire 90 minutes and keep motivating us.
There’s a big difference between league matches and international ones. But with the coach’s guidance, we came back and controlled the game."
Coach Olaroiu also praised the supporters, saying their energy helped change the game.
"Thank you to the fans for the fantastic energy. It kept us going," he said.
"When you have this kind of support, it changes the game. It was like two different matches in one.
We started under huge pressure and made a mistake early, but then we recovered."
The players have less than 72 hours to rest before facing Qatar, who drew their first game against Oman.
"There are challenges, but we have to overcome them," Essa said.
"We struggled at first but came back strong. Now the biggest challenge is against a strong home team with their fans behind them.
We need to stay calm and focused, as we’ve only secured three points so far. We have to prepare for the next match."
May Allah grant the UAE team success and make their efforts fruitful, Ameen.
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