Star of the UAE national team and Al-Wasl club, Fabio Lima, confirmed that the 'White' is capable of reaching the semi-finals of the 2025 Arab Nations Cup, which kicked off yesterday in the Qatari capital Doha and runs until December 18. At this time, the 'White' is competing in Group C, which includes Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait. Lima told 'Al-Ittihad': 'I support my teammates in the national team, and I am confident that the 'White' can go far in these competitions and reach the semi-finals.' He explained that 'the team has a good group of players that qualify it to go far in the Arab Nations Cup, which depends on overcoming the first hurdle in the group stage against the Jordanian team.' He added: 'I tried hard to join the national team, but I was unable to due to the treatment period, and I believe that despite the strength of the teams in the UAE's group, whether Jordan, Egypt, or Kuwait, the 'White' has every chance to go far in the final rounds.' It is worth noting that Fabio Lima was absent from the team's two matches against Iraq last month in the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup finals due to a thigh injury, which required, as Al-Wasl club previously announced, four to six weeks of rest. Despite his return to the pitch, the technical staff led by Romanian coach Ilie Balacescu did not include him in the squad for the Arab Nations Cup. Regarding Al-Wasl's season and exit from cup competitions, Lima said: 'Last month was tough for Al-Wasl due to the dramatic exit from cup competitions, and as players, we must take responsibility and make more effort to correct the mistakes that accompanied us in the past period, to save what remains of the season.' He continued: 'The club's management is doing its best to provide all the requirements for success. Two years ago, Al-Wasl had a distinguished group of players who succeeded in achieving the club's fans' aspirations. Our last match the day before yesterday with Al-Jazira and our farewell from the semi-finals of the Professional League Cup (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup) highlight the problems we suffer in the team, the most prominent of which is our lack of focus in exploiting available opportunities to score, in addition to receiving goals at sensitive times that are difficult to compensate for.' He concluded: 'Changing the technical staff and dealing with different coaching styles are normal occurrences in football, which players must deal with. Hence the importance of continuing to work in training to correct flaws, including the physical aspect, to ensure the required performance, whether in the league championship where we are behind the leader Al-Ain by a small margin (5 points), or in the Asian tournament (second division) where we qualified for the round of 16.'
Fabio Lima: • 'I tried hard to join the national team, but I was unable to due to the treatment period.' • 'I support my teammates in the national team, and I am confident that the 'White' can go far.'
