UAE VS MAS: AN ANALYSIS

First game: UAE 4-0 Malaysia 

Scorers:

UAE:  Ali Mabkhout (19’, 90’+1’), Fabio Lima (83’, 90’+3’)

Formations: 

Malaysia: 4-1-4-1 

UAE: 4-3-3 

Malaysia played as a 4-1-4-1 off the ball, with Azam Azih playing as the lone DM covering the defensive line. The pressing trigger initially was the RCB of UAE receiving the ball, where Syamer Kutty pressed forward, and Azam Azih coming forward to play as a 4-4-2. However, this will become a problem. 

In possession, UAE played as a 4-2-4, putting an attacker on each of the CB to cause confusion in the MAS defence. UAE’s #10 playing in a floating role behind the main striker was able to find pockets of space constantly between the MAS defence and midfield. His ability to run at players with the ball and pick out passes did not give MAS defenders a moment to rest. In general, the movement of the UAE players ran MAS ragged. Defenders would be confused on who to mark and it left many players open in dangerous areas of the pitch.

One of the main problems for MAS came in their biggest asset; pressing. As Syamer moves forward to press the ball, Azih does not move into the vacated space allowing the UAE player to pick up the ball unmarked. This culminated in the first goal of the game for UAE, with the midfielder allowed acres of space to turn and pick out a beautiful lobbed pass for the assist. However, question marks need to be asked about the defensive rotation of the midfield during the press as well as the defensive line being so low, allowing a lot of space in the middle 1/3 of the field. 

During the goal, another question comes to mind, if the ball goes over the top of Aidil Zafuan, should Matt Davies be covering his CB and not allow space for the ST to control the ball and score? 

On the other hand, when MAS do get the ability to break, they often choose the easy route and slow the tempo. This did not work for them as their most dangerous opportunities came from playing long passes over the UAE defence, and their lack of willingness to play more through passes obstructed their ability to score. 

Guilherme De Paula needs to do better here as the lone striker for MAS. He needs to hold the ball up better in order to bring his teammates into play and facilitate a cohesive attack. However, he was unable to during the game and caused issues in the build-up play.

The man in the middle of the screen, Farizal Marlias, had a man of the match performance. Although it is a funny thing to say after losing 4-0, the score might have been much worse had the man between the sticks not come to our rescue time and again!

UAE’s second goal of the game. Although the finish was classy, the UAE forward should not have had this much space to receive the ball in the penalty area, especially after a corner kick. The defensive line should be moving up much quicker to close the space. 

Inevitably, when you throw bodies forward, there will always be a shortage of defenders. However, this is a defensive error, where the two CBs are not on the same wavelength and thus one CB plays the forward onside while the other is trying to play an offside trap. This could be due to a lack of chemistry or fatigue from both players, allowing the striker to score the 3rd goal, slotting it in from an acute angle. 

For the 4th and final goal it is another defensive mistake. The UAE forward is allowed the time and space to play this pass (although, to be fair it is quite a pass) for his teammate. The CB, Dion Cools should be engaging the player here as the DM is already out of position and can be running to cover him. The through pass allows the forward to play it across goal to an oncoming forward, Fabio Lima for a simple tap in.  

Overall: UAE dominated the game against MAS and did not look like they had to get out of second gear for most of the match. The defensive shape of MAS left a lot to be desired, with UAE being able to poke holes in the defence throughout the 90 minutes. Furthermore, the slow movement of the ball meant that by the time the attackers had received the ball, they were already closed down and were unable to take on their marker and stifled their attack.  As the commentators said, the 38°C may have flattened many players as they looked exhausted during the game, however as elite level players with professional conditioning and camps they attended before the game, this should not be an issue. 

Let me know what you think! 

This Analysis Article Is Written by Zuhdi Rabin