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Al Ain take on Nagoya of Japan in AFC rescheduled match tomorrow

Al Ain Football Team will conduct their last training session this evening at Mizho Stadium in Japan, ahead of their match tomorrow against their hosts Nagoya Grampus in the AFC Champions League. The match is the second round postponed game and will kick off at 2pm, UAE time.

Al Ain held a four-day warm up camp in China after their previous match against Hangzhou Greentown on Tuesday April 6, which resulted in a goalless draw. The team left for Japan on Sunday morning and started their training program that same evening at Miyanto Nagoya pitch.

Both Al Ain and Nagoya have played two games so far which ended in a loss and a draw to collect one point each, putting Al Ain to in  third place and Nagoya at the bottom of Group F on goal difference. The Group includes leaders FC Seoul from South Korea on 7 points and second-placed Hangzhou Greentown from China with 4 points.

The two squads are hoping to come out of tomorrow's match with three valuable points in order to boost their position in the ladder and strengthen their chances of qualifying for the next stage.

Al Ain's Brazilian coach Alexander Gallo is expected to start the game with the same line-up who played the last game against Hangzhou Greentown in China, with Ismail Rabei as keeper, Musallam Fayez, Faris Juma'a, Ismail Ahmad and Mohammad Salim in defense, Ali Al Wihaibi, Ibrahima Kieta from Ivory Coast, Rami Yaslam and Omar Abdul Rahman in midfield and Brazilian Elias and Romanian Valentine leading from the front line.

Gallo stated in a press conference held this morning that his team is currently in good condition following the formation of Al Ain's new Board of Directors, who have ensured the team had everything it required in order to  secure the moral of the players. "The break in the Japanese League for a long time due to the environmental circumstances, made things difficult for me to follow our rivals' local matches, but I was following the Japanese team before the domestic competition came to a halt. I therefore know Nagoya is a strong team and includes a number of brilliant elements. Their strong display against Seoul in the last game was proof that they are well prepared for the tie, but we are also well prepared and all the players are in a good condition and enthusiastic to fight for their first win."

Nagoya's coach, Howang Bu Kowan from Serbia, said that tomorrow's game is very important for both teams as they have a similar balance of points and are looking for a win. He said, "Al Ain play organized football and have a number of brilliant players and if we are to win the game, we have to respect our opponents."