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Abu Dhabi: Algeria beat the UAE by a single goal in their international friendly match on Wednesday.
The match was played in France as the two teams prepare for the next round of the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.
The UAE will face North Korea in the Asian qualifiers on September 6 while Algeria will host Senegal on September 5 in the African qualifiers.
The African side fielded professional footballers who play in Spain, France and Germany.
They took control of midfield to repeatedly break through a vulnerable UAE defence in the first half.
The only goal of the game came after only seven minutes when Yassin Bazzaz headed home a cross from Karim Zayani.
Bruno Metsu, the UAE head coach, started the match with Esmail Rabie in goal to prepare him for the first match against the Koreans, which first-choice custodian Majid Nasir will miss because of a one match suspension.
Saleh Obaid, Basheer Saeed, Rashid Abdul Rahman and Faris Jumaa played in defence. Abdul Rahim Jumaa, Hilal Saeed, Mohammad Ebrahim and Esmail Al Hammadi featured in midfield while Esmail Mattar and Mohammad Al Shehhi led the attack.
Penalty claim
The referee turned down a UAE penalty shout when Mattar claimed an Algerian defender fouled him inside the penalty box.
The UAE produced one of their worst performances in the first half with passes going astray, bad marking and little teamwork.
In the second half, Metsu made several changes to try most of his players. The UAE played better but did not succeed in breaching a solid Algerian defence for the equaliser.
The closest they came was a shot from Dada, which was blocked by a defender onto the bar.
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