UAE midfielder criticizes Bert van Marwijk for defeat against Vietnam

Khaled Khamis Obaid, a midfielder of Al Dhafra FC has flatly criticized coach Bert van Marwijk’s decision in the Vietnam vs UAE match on November 14.

Confidently bracing for the match at Vietnam’s My Dinh stadium, UAE come home empty-handed and disappointed. Their coach is under fire from the public

Khaled Khamis Obaid said, “It was not the right decision of coach Bert van Marwijk to start Khalil. Zayed Al-Ameri or Khalfan Mubarak who played well in Al-Jazeera FC should have been given a chance sooner. Van Marwijk now pays the price.”

>>> Defeating UAE, Vietnam takes top spot of Group G

Bert van Marwijk fielded Ahmed Khalil as key player Ali Mabkhout was suspended. However, Ahmed performed quite poorly, partly resulting in UAE’s impasse.

“I am not surprised by his poor performance. This player is not ready to play. Al Hammadi’s suspension forced Van Marwijk to replace him with Mohammed Al Attas in the midfield. This caused the midfield imbalance and Vietnam took advantage of this to dominate the game,” Khaled Khamis Obaid added.

The defeat to Vietnam leaves Bert van  Marwijk with an uncertain  future. The Dutch strategist, who led the Netherlands to become the runner-up of World Cup 2010, might be dismissed if UAE continues its losing streak.

>>> Nishino: ‘Chances lie ahead, we will be more determined in the next match’

>>> Thai press: ‘Vietnam wins impressively, Thailand loses poorly’

>>> UAE coach: ‘I’ve never seen any referee issue a red card so quickly’