Al Jazeera hosts Al Ain in a three-round Arabian Gulf Cup match at 9:15 pm at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It is expected to witness the first appearance of Al Ain star, Brazilian Cayo, who missed the match between Al Shabab Al Ahli in the first round, which ended in a draw 2-2, while Al Ain was comfortable in the second round, in contrast Al Jazira beat Khorfakkan in the first round 3 -1, but returned and lost from Al-Ahly in a second with a clean quad.
But the summit will be a dialogue between the young players in the light of the absence of influential up to 19 players from both teams, as a number of internationals join the national team, which is preparing to meet Malaysia at the start of the joint qualifiers for the World Cup 2022, Asia 2023.
Al Jazira have just three points from two games in Group A, led by Shabab Al Ahli, while Al Ain have one point from one game. Al Ain will miss nine players: Khalid Issa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Ahmed Berman and Mohamed Shaker with the first team, Saeed Juma, Falah Waleed, Khalid Al Balushi, Ali Eid with the Olympic, and Laba Kodjo with the Togo team.
Al-Jazeera's list also sees a number of absences for the same reason: Ali Khasif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdul Rahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Zayed Al Ameri, and Thulani Serero joined the South African national team camp. Also absent Abdulrahman al-Amiri, who is with the Olympic team.
This match will give the coaches of the two teams the opportunity to engage a large number of young players and replacements in order to determine their technical and physical level, in preparation for the upcoming matches in local tournaments. In the first round, while «Violet» rested in the second round, and Caillou appeared fit during training pending the final decision of coach Ivan Liko and the medical staff ».
Al Jazeera coach Jurgen Streibel said in a press statement that he was determined to restore the tone of victories after the sudden fall against Al Ahli youth, and stressed that this defeat was a shock to everyone, and they are required to correct the situation by winning a big game against Al Ain.
Amid absenteeism, he said he was counting on the rapid recovery of foreigners Murat Patna, Kino and Kusanovic in time for the match.
Al Ain Coach: We will be on a different team
Al Ain coach Ivan Lecco said that everyone is in full focus to win on Al Jazira and win the three points, noting in a press conference that he will appear in front of Al Jazeera «a completely different from the match played by Al Shabab in the first round», also confirmed that The absence of internationals is no excuse for not appearing in the required form and seeking to win, confirming his full confidence in the young players who will take their chance in this game.