FIFA Under-17 World Cup: UAE face Brazil in group stage
The UAE have been handed a tough task to progress to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup knockout stage after the tournament hosts were drawn alongside three-time champions Brazil, Honduras and Slovakia in Group A.
The Whites are in good form heading into the World Cup but will need to be at their best in October, with Brazil the predominant force at Under-17 level, while Slovakia are the fourth ranked side in Europe.
Honduras are a side the Whites will look to overcome in the first game of the competition on October 17, with the central Americans losing all six of their games at this level in 2007 and 2009.
The Brazilians are currently the FIFA U17 World Cup record holders in terms of goals (142), games (65) and wins (40). But senior national team coach Mahdi Ali thinks the collision will only help the team, regardless of the score.
"It's not easy to evaluate the team until we see them but this competition is very important," said Ali. "We can see new players, they can gain experience for the future from all the teams, especially Brazil.
"We are planning for this team to one day go to the first team because we planning for generation after generation. It is good to play against Brazil and to play the best 24 teams, this will only help them.
"I think it is a good chance for the UAE to play Brazil and gain this experience," added Ali. "I think sometimes when you have a strong team in your group that means it's good for you and the group.
"It's a great opportunity."
Mahdi compared the Under-17's draw to that of his Olympic squad, and the UAE senior coach believes the youngsters can take inspiration from his team's showing in London last year.
"When we got the draw for London 2012 against Uruguay, Team GB, and Senegal, everyone was afraid," he explained. "But I was very happy to play the big teams to gain experience and to show the whole world that the UAE have a good team and good players and that they love playing football."
The Samba Boys won the competition three times in four years between 1997 and 2003 with stars such as Ronaldinho making their names.
Gustavo Pires, Brazilian team administrator, admitted his boys know very little about the challenge that the UAE pose but insists that they will be a threat.
"It's always hard to play against the home team," said Pires. "We are sure they will have a big crowd getting behind the team. We are expecting a hard game against the Emirates in the group stage.
"We don't know very much about the UAE at the moment but we are going start looking for information to get to watch some of their games an get prepared to play against them."
The UAE have previous against other Group A rivals Slovakia after beating the Europeans 3-1 in a friendly game in Istanbul on August 5 with Khaled Khalfan and Zayed Al Amri doing the damage for the Whites.
While the UAE will take heart from the result going into the game on October 23, Slovakia team manager Vailing David insists the game will have no bearing come World Cup time, claiming they know the UAE well enough to beat them.
"Our knowledge is just from this month because of our international friendly match in Istanbul between these teams," David told Sport360.
"We lost the game but we led in the first half and we think this is a good opponent for us, we know how they play and their players. We will be really well prepared for this match."
The tournament will begin on October 17 with the UAE taking on Honduras in Abu Dhabi.
FULL DRAW FOR FIFA U-17 WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE
Group A
17 October UAE v Honduras - Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
20 October UAE v Brazil - Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
23 October UAE v Slovakia - Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
17 October Brazil v Slovakia - Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
20 October Slovakia v Honduras - Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
23 October Honduras v Brazil - Emirates Club Stadium, Ras al-Khaimah
Group B
17 October Uruguay v New Zealand - Emirates Club Stadium, Ras al-Khaimah
17 October Ivory Coast v Italy - Emirates Club Stadium, Ras al-Khaimah
20 October Uruguay v Ivory Coast - Emirates Club Stadium, Ras al-Khaimah
20 October Italy v New Zealand - Emirates Club Stadium, Ras al-Khaimah
23 October New Zealand v Ivory Coast - Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
23 October Italy v Uruguay - Emirates Club Stadium, Ras al-Khaimah
Group C
17 October Croatia v Morocco - Fujairah Club Stadium, Fujairah
17 October Panama v Uzbekistan - Fujairah Club Stadium, Fujairah
20 October Croatia v Panama - Fujairah Club Stadium, Fujairah
20 October Uzbekistan v Morocco - Fujairah Club Stadium, Fujairah
23 October Uzbekistan v Croatia - Fujairah Club Stadium, Fujairah
23 October Morocco v Panama- Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
Group D
17 October Tunisia v Venezuala - Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
17 October Russia v Japan - Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
20 October Tunisia v Russia - Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
20 October Japan v Venezuala - Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
23 October Venezuala v Russia - Fujairah Club Stadium, Fujairah
23 October Japan v Tunisia - Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah
Group E
19 October Canada v Austria - Al Rashid Stadium, Dubai
19 October Iran v Argentina - Al Rashid Stadium, Dubai
22 October Canada v Iran - Al Rashid Stadium, Dubai
22 October Argentina v Austria - Al Rashid Stadium, Dubai
25 October Argentina v Canada - Al Rashid Stadium, Dubai
25 October Austria v Iran - Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain
Group F
19 October Mexico v Nigeria - Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain
19 October Iraq v Sweden - Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain
22 October Sweden v Iraq - Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain
22 October Sweden v Nigeria - Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain
25 October Nigeria v Iraq - Al Rashid Stadium, Dubai
25 October Sweden v Mexico - Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium, Al Ain
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