The United Arab Emirates will get their AFC Asian Cup campaign underway this weekend when they take on Hong Kong at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan on Sunday afternoon.

This will mark the first match of the competition for Group C, which also features Iran and Palestine, who will lock horns at Education City Stadium immediately after this match.

Match preview

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Having claimed a bronze medal in this competition in 2015 and finished fourth in 2019, the UAE could be one of the dark horses at this year's Asian Cup, which is being held just across their own borders.

Al-Abyad, who hosted the 2019 edition of this competition, suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Oman in a friendly warm-up match last week, with Abdullah Fawaz scoring the lone goal in the fifth minute.

Following his successful stint leading South Korea to the last 16, Paulo Bento, a former Portugal international, left the Taegeuk Warriors after the 2022 World Cup and assumed the role of head coach for the UAE last July.

Bento joined the UAE team following their disappointing group stage exit at the previous year's Gulf Cup and managed to achieve a six-game winning streak with his new team before that defeat against Oman.

While that loss was certainly not an ideal way to head into the tournament, the side will be aiming to put that result behind them and get their cup campaign off to a winning start against an opponent they have never lost a competitive match to.

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Meanwhile, Hong Kong's best-ever performance in the premier continental competition was way back in 1956 when they managed the bronze medal and they come into the current tournament ranked 150th, according to FIFA world rankings.

The Dragons have the odds firmly stacked against them as they are not only the lowest-ranked team in Group C but are also the lowest-ranked team in the entire competition this year.

Led by former Norwegian international Jorn Andersen, Hong Kong clinched their place in the Asian Cup by finishing second to India in the third round of qualifying, holding off Afghanistan and Cambodia in the process.

However, preparation for this competition did not go well as his side lost their last two warm-up matches against Tajikistan and Saudi Arabia while they have only won one of their last six in all competitions.

With Iran and the UAE being heavily fancied to top this group, reaching the knockout stages of this competition will likely rely heavily on Hong Kong beating Palestine and hoping it will be enough to earn them one of the four third-place qualification spots.

Team News

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Al Jazira striker Ali Mabkhout, at 33 years of age, is still the talisman for the UAE and is the country's all-time leading scorer with 85 goals in 115 matches, including five at the 2015 Asian Cup, which earned him the Golden Boot.

Shabab Al Ahli winger Harib Abdulla has been tipped as one to watch after solid performances in the AFC Champions League and continuing to impress in last year's World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Australia.

Midfielder Wong Wai and centre-half Vas Nunez, who were absent from all of Hong Kong's practice matches in recent weeks, are reportedly close to recovering from respective groin and shoulder problems.

Defender Helio Goncalves, who was substituted during the match against China last week, has recovered and is now available, while 22-year-old midfielder Jesse Yu Joy-yin, who was absent for the win against China and the following loss to Tajikistan, is also back in contention.

United Arab Emirates possible starting lineup:
Eisa; Sultan, Salmin, Hashemi, Ramadan; Lima, Suhail, Hamad, Canedo, Al Hammadi; Mabkhout

Hong Kong possible starting lineup:
Yapp; Law, Gerbig, Goncalves, Sun; Lam, Chan, Tan, Camargo, Orr; Udebuluzor

We say: United Arab Emirates 2-0 Hong Kong

The United Arab Emirates are certainly a side to keep an eye on through this tournament and have the much better side on paper in this contest. Hong Kong are expected to give it their all, as they always do, but we are backing the Sons of Zayed to clinch the first three points in this group.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Devesh Jaganath

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