Uruguay Fight Back to Beat UAE in Olympic Football

The United Arab Emirates have been labeled as “underdogs” ahead of the Olympic football tournament. However, they are not to be taken lightly.

In the first two preliminary rounds of qualifying, UAE scored a staggering 12 goals whilst conceding only two. Their impeccable record of zero losses continued into the group stages of qualifying, where they won four and drew two, including a home win against Australia. They eased into the Olympics, six points ahead of second-place Uzbekistan.

Their first task in this Olympic tournament was a tough one: taking on Uruguay, a team that boasts a record of nine wins, one draw and zero defeats at the Olympics. And though the Uruguayans hadn't qualified since 1928, they stayed undefeated in Olympic play with a hard-fought, 2-1 victory on Thursday.

The game started brightly with UAE much the better team, and in the 10^th minute, there was a strong appeal for a penalty for UAE, after it appeared Sebastian Coates had tripped Omar Abdulrahman. Replays showed otherwise, however, with Coates just getting the ball before the man, resulting in a corner.

The surging wave of UAE pressure continued with the pace and skill of Abdulrahman and the ever-impressive Ahmed Khalil, who scored six goals in qualifying. The pressure soon paid off. 

Abdulrahman picked the ball up in midfield before slotting an exquisite pass through to the charging Ismaeil Matar. The former FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament went past Martin Campana in the Uruguayan goal, before cutting back inside on his right foot and slotting the ball into an empty net.

The debutants continued to press, and they could’ve found themselves 2-0 up shortly after.

Firstly, Rashad Eisa skipped past Ramon Arias before firing straight at Campana from an acute angle. Then in the 39^th minute, a clever short corner resulted in a dangerous cross from Abdulrahman. Matar should’ve had his second of the game, but his header went flying over the bar.

Nevertheless, the dominance of the unknown wasn’t sustained.

With four minutes left to halftime, Uruguay mounted a meaningful attack that resulted in Luis Suarez being fouled by Amer Abdulrahman, another talented Emirati. This time, Gaston Ramirez, who had replaced Edison Cavani on free kick duty, curled a spectacular effort into Ali Khaseif’s goal.

It really was “a game of two halves” in terms of possession and threat.

Uruguay piled on the pressure, and it finally paid off. In the 56^th minute, Egidio Arevalo forced a fantastic one-handed save from Khaseif. Then, a matter of seconds later, Uruguay gained the advantage. Substitute Nicolas Lodeiro played a neat pass to Suarez, who darted in from the left-hand side of the box. His subsequent turn then allowed him to lay the ball off to the onrushing Lodeiro, who hit the ball home.

It was clear that Uruguay had not known what to expect from UAE. The final chance of the game fell to the usually prolific Khalil. Again, Omar Abdulrahman played a delightful, defence-splitting pass through, only for Khalil to drag his hurried shot wide.

After the match, captain Ismaeil Matar stated that “it wasn’t easy for them because it was (our) first time.” However, with the performance UAE put in, no one would have realised it's their first Olympic experience.

Matar refused to admit defeat, stating that “we still have a chance next week,” and with Team GB up next for Redha Mahdi’s team, they have it all to play for.

This piece was originally written for The Reporters' Academy, a media production company run by young people. The Reporters' Academy is integrated into the world of media, education and employment, based in two great sporting cities, Manchester and Melbourne, and is officially inspired by London 2012.