UAE U20

Nobody talks about a UAE Under-20 derby, but the fixtures that put a charge into this age group are the ones against Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Oman.

The team took its first steps in Kathmandu on 7 October 1982, beating South Yemen 1-0 in its opening game at the AFC Youth Championship, and finished that debut tournament in fourth place, adding fourth-place finishes in 1988 and 1992 and third-place ones in 1985 and 1996.

Two names carry that history. Ismail Matar came through this group before taking the Golden Ball at the 2003 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and Ahmed Khalil was named the age group's most valuable player and top scorer in 2008 before going on to become Asia's Young Footballer of the Year.

Known as Al-Abyad — the Whites — for the white shirt and red shorts the players wear, the squad has no home ground of its own. It moves between Al Hamriyah Stadium in Sharjah, Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium and Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, depending on where a tournament or training camp puts it.

At World Cup level, the team reached the quarter-finals in 2003 and again in 2009.