Cosmin: We Learned an Important Lesson from the Morocco Match
UAE national team coach confirms team's readiness to face Saudi Arabia and considers the Morocco match lesson important.
SUMMARY
UAE national team coach Olaroiu Cosmin confirmed the team's readiness for the third-place match against Saudi Arabia and considered the lesson from the Morocco semi-final match important for correcting the course, highlighting the difficulty and pressure of the Arab Cup matches on the young players.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Cosmin confirms UAE national team's readiness to face Saudi Arabia in the third-place match.
- The coach indicates the team could have overturned the Morocco match result if they had scored a goal.
- Described the Arab Cup matches as a tough marathon due to match pressure and strong competition.
- Confirmed that goalkeeper Hamad Al-Maqbali's participation was deserved and not a gamble.
CORE SUBJECT
Statements of UAE national team coach about Morocco match and preparations for Saudi Arabia
The coach of the UAE national team, Romanian Olaroiu Cosmin, confirmed the readiness of the "White" to face their Saudi counterpart in the match determining the third and fourth places, considering that achieving third place would be a positive result for the team.
Cosmin emphasized that the team could have overturned the result of the match against Morocco in the semi-final if they had scored a goal, explaining that excessive openness on the field and conceding a goal lead to a consecutive collapse. He stressed the necessity of learning from that experience, which he described as an important lesson that will help correct the course.
Cosmin described the team's reaching the semi-final as a good achievement, especially given the participation of several young players. He pointed out that the Arab Cup matches were like a tough "marathon" due to the match pressure and the strength of the competition. He confirmed that the players made great sacrifices throughout the tournament journey. Cosmin said in a press conference: "The Saudi team is very strong, and I believe we faced the strongest teams in the tournament, such as Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco, and tomorrow Saudi Arabia. The players had to play five or six matches within 15 days, which is an extremely difficult competition given the mental and physical limits." The coach confirmed that the participation of goalkeeper Hamad Al-Maqbali was not a gamble, noting that he deserved to be a starter as he was the best goalkeeper in the UAE league last season.
KEYWORDS
MENTIONED ENTITIES 6
Olaroiu Cosmin
👤 Person_MaleCoach of the UAE national football team
UAE national team
🏛️ OrganizationNational football team of the United Arab Emirates
Saudi Arabia national team
🏛️ OrganizationNational football team of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Hamad Al-Maqbali
👤 Person_MaleGoalkeeper of the UAE national team and best goalkeeper in the UAE league last season
Morocco match
EventArab Cup semi-final match between UAE and Morocco national teams
Arab Cup
EventArab Cup football tournament
NOTABLE QUOTES 1
"The Saudi team is very strong, and I believe we faced the strongest teams in the tournament, such as Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco, and tomorrow Saudi Arabia. The players had to play five or six matches within 15 days, which is an extremely difficult competition given the mental and physical limits."
Context: Statements at a press conference about the difficulty of the Arab Cup matches and the strength of the competition