The past
United Arab Emirates have won the last two editions of the Asian Beach Soccer Championship to qualify for back-to-back FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups. The team finished fourth in their group at Rio de Janeiro 2007, before ending Marseille 2008 third in their section. The UAE will be looking for home support to improve their record among the world elite under their Brazilian coach Marcelo Mendes.
The present
As hosts, United Arab Emirates qualified automatically and have prepared for the competition with a series of friendlies. They defeated Oman twice, before a trip to Brazil. They then took part in the Mundialito 2009 in Portugal, where they lost all their three games to the hosts, world champions Brazil and European champions Spain.
The future
Winning the Asian Beach Soccer Championship has raised United Arab Emirates' status as one of the best teams in the continent. However, coach Mendes will be looking for the next level which is to impress at the 2009 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. "Our target is to qualify to the semi-finals of the competition," he said. "We have prepared well for the tournament and the team showed a lot of development which will help us to have good results in the World Cup."
Facts
Key players
Bakhit Alabadla and Ibrahim Albalooshi
Qualifying statistics
Qualified as hosts
The numbers game
12 - The number of goals the United Arab Emirates scored in Marseille 2008.
