Asian Cup 2019: 5 Reasons Why India Not Playing Syria Friendly is Bad News

Instead of facing Syria, the Blue Tigers would be locking horns with a club side from UAE (File picture)
Instead of facing Syria, the Blue Tigers would be locking horns with a club side from UAE (File picture)

#4 UAE based club will not have a full-fledged side

UAE's club Al-Ain will be facing Real Madrid in the finals of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup
UAE's club Al-Ain will be facing Real Madrid in the finals of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup

While preparing your side for a tournament, crossing swords with local clubs can be a good idea. The players are much familiar with their teammates and, they know their home ground like the back of the hand.

However, whichever top UAE-based club Stephen Constantine will face, that team will have its key players missing as they would be a part of the national team setup of UAE.

In the friendly against Yemen, two players from the current league leaders Sharjah FC, five players from the second-placed Al-Jazira, and three players from the third-placed Al-Ain constituted the 21-member squad.

So, if the AIFF arranges a friendly with either of these top-three clubs, the Indian team would again have to be content with battling out second-string sides. Moreover, the match would be played out in the middle of their UAE Pro-League. A smart and shrewd manager could use it to test their U-21 side.

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Edited by Aravind Suchindran
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