According to the correspondent of Tasnim news agency from Doha, Sergio Costa, after the UAE national football team’s 2-1 defeat against Iran, in response to the question whether he followed the Palestine-Hong Kong match, said: We were playing against Iran, but At the same time, we were getting information about another race. We expected a tough game.
Referring to the critical and decisive minutes of the match, he said: There was a moment in the game when the fate of the entire match could change. We had a penalty kick, but we missed it and Iran got the second goal. We tried to compete with one of the most powerful teams in Asia, but Iran achieved its third victory.
The coach of the UAE national team, who came to this press conference in the absence of the suspended head coach of the UAE, noted whether the absence of Ali Mabkhout was due to technical issues or not: This case is related to technical and tactical issues. We go into every match with 11 players that we think is the right decision to play.
Regarding the effect of the absence of the head coach of the UAE national team, Paolo Bento, Costa stated: I do not agree with this issue. We prepare for the match during the week and in training, and it is in these trainings that we design our own game model. Everyone knew what to do in each section. Bento is a strong leader, but this result did not happen because of his absence.
He said about the scene where the UAE goalkeeper seemed to have a verbal conflict with the defenders of this team: This is a completely normal incident and was not a special case.
The coach of the UAE national team said about the contenders for the Asian Nations Cup: This tournament shows that there is no easier group or easier team. Every team competes with all their heart in every match and we see surprises in every group. This issue shows that every team has progressed and is considered a good thing for Asian football. Teams such as South Korea, Iran, Japan, Qatar and Australia are the main contenders for the cup.
In response to a reporter from South Korea who said that the country’s national team played against Portugal in the 2022 World Cup in the same stadium in the absence of Paulo Bento (then head coach of South Korea) and the UAE experienced similar conditions today, Costa said: “We are in In both meetings, we had the honor of representing two countries (South Korea and UAE). That was the only thing the two games had in common, and other than that, everything else was different. Of course, in both matches, I would have preferred Bento to be on the bench.
He clarified about the confrontation of the UAE with the national team of Tajikistan in the round of 16 of the Asian Nations Cup: We had the necessary preparation from the beginning of the competition and analyzed the teams that were considered our possible rivals. We will prepare for the match with Tajikistan in the best way and we will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of this team to design our game plan based on this match.