UAE football team qualify for 2012 London Olympics

The UAE's national football team has qualified for the London Olympics 2012 with a 3-2 defeat of Uzbekistan.

The UAE football team made history on Wednesday when they qualified to London Olympic Games 2012 after defeating Uzbek host in Tashkent 3-2 in the final six round of the second Asian group.

The national under-23 team required only a draw to advance from the Asian Olympic qualifiers, but Al Ahli striker Ahmed Khalil scored two brilliant goals in quick succession to cap a spirited performance by the Emiratis.

The team were in the Group B driving seat going into their final fixture of the third preliminary round of Asian qualifiers having garnered 11 points form their five matches compared to Uzbekistan’s eight.

UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan congratulated the team and lauded their historic achievement.

“We are confident that this feat will further motivate you to score more victories in the London Olympic competitions in summer. The victory is part of the victories being scored by our teams in different sports and competitions,” he said.