Sharjah24 – WAM: Hosting the remaining group games, the UAE restart their campaign where they kicked it all off nearly two years ago, when they face Malaysia at Zabeel Stadium tomorrow, Dubai.

Syafiq Ahmed opened the scoring for Malaysia within a minute of kick-off in the reverse fixture, but the 43,000 fans at Bukit Jalil National Stadium were silenced as the UAE’s all-time top scorer Ali Mabkhout bagged a goal either side of the break to win it 2-1 for the Whites.

Since that game, Malaysia have fared better than their more experienced opponents, beating Thailand 2-1 and Indonesia 2-0, having earlier lost to Vietnam 1-0. - a sequence of results that sees Malaysia flying in second place, three points ahead of their Thursday opponents, but having played a game more.

AFC Asian Cup runners-up in 1996 and semi-finalists in the last two editions, the UAE conceded away loses to Vietnam and Thailand, finding themselves now languishing in fourth and in need of a strong run-in at home if they are to keep alive their hopes of reaching the FIFA World Cup for the second time after 1990.

Vietnam now lead the group heading into the restart, but Malaysia or Thailand could be at the summit come the end of the day, while the host nation, UAE, having played a game less, can close the gap with a win.