'Why not use the naturalized player I brought in?'

Arab Football News reported on the 27th (Korean time) that 'the dismissal of Paulo Bento as UAE head coach has been planned for a long time.' It stated, 'The UAE Football Association has wanted to change the coach for a while, but they did not dismiss him because other candidates were unwilling.'

The UAE Football Association announced on the 26th through official channels that it has decided to dismiss head coach Bento, who is of Portuguese nationality, along with his coaching staff. Following a 2-1 victory against North Korea in the 8th match of the third qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, held at Prince Bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Bento was dismissed.

UAE, which defeated North Korea, recorded 4 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses (13 points) and is currently in 3rd place in Group A. In this Asian qualifier for the World Cup in North and Central America, the top two teams from each group are awarded direct tickets to the finals. Each group will play 10 matches in a home-and-away format. Iran (20 points), currently leading Group A, has already qualified for the finals regardless of the outcome of the remaining two matches. The UAE is competing with Uzbekistan (17 points) for the second position.

Even if the UAE does not advance directly to the finals, it can attempt to qualify again in the fourth qualifying round, where the 3rd and 4th place teams from each group will participate. In the upcoming 9th match, the UAE will clash with second-place Uzbekistan. They must win to improve their ranking, but it is widely believed that defeating 'strong team' Uzbekistan will not be easy, especially with their recent narrow victory over last-place North Korea.

In this situation, the UAE Football Association chose to dismiss Bento. Bento was appointed as the head coach of the UAE national team on July 9, 2023. He signed a three-year contract with the goal of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America but left the position with 1 year and 8 months remaining in his term.

Bento had a smooth start, winning 4-1 against Costa Rica in a friendly shortly after his appointment. In the second round of the World Cup qualifiers for Asia, which began in November 2023, he achieved 5 wins and 1 draw in 6 matches, ranking first in Group H and advancing to the final qualifiers. His significant 5-0 victory over Qatar in the third qualifiers in November 2024 drew attention, and he maintained hopes of direct qualification for the World Cup after defeating North Korea 2-1 in March of this year.

However, public opinion sharply declined after a 0-2 defeat in Iran on March 20, and they barely managed to win against last-place North Korea after conceding a last-minute goal. The UAE under Bento also failed to meet expectations in the Asian Cup.

In January 2024, at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held in Qatar, the UAE advanced to the knockout stage with 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss in the group stage, but was eliminated after a penalty shootout against Tajikistan. This was a disappointing result compared to their fourth-place finish in 2019.

At that time, Bento faced criticism for both the decline in performance and the selection management, excluding Ali Mabkhout from the starting lineup.

Bento led the UAE in a total of 26 matches, achieving 14 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses. His win rate was about 53.9%, a relatively high level compared to recent UAE national team coaches; however, the early elimination from the Asian Cup and poor performance in the latter stages of the World Cup qualifiers led him to step down.

Arab Football News explained that 'last year, the UAE strengthened its squad through several naturalizations after hiring Bento. The goal was to aim for direct qualification for the World Cup. However, when they recorded 1 draw and 3 losses in the first four matches of the final qualifiers last year, there was a plan to definitely dismiss him. However, all other candidates declined, thus he was retained.'

The outlet noted, 'In that situation, by winning both November A matches, Bento managed to hold onto his position. Then the UAE Football Association focused on the March A matches, bolstering their strength by employing four Brazilian players for the away match against Iran.'

Furthermore, 'Bento opted to use domestic players predominantly in a formation he had not employed before against Iran, resulting in a 0-2 loss. Ultimately, this match seems to have prompted the UAE Football Association to decide on Bento's dismissal.'

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