Although eight naturalized players, including those from Brazil, were heavily utilized, head coach Paulo Bento ultimately fell from grace.

The UAE Football Association announced through its official channel on the 26th (Korea time) that it had decided to dismiss coach Bento, who holds Portuguese nationality, and his coaching staff.

After leading the UAE to a 2-1 victory against North Korea in the 8th match of Group A in the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers held at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Coach Bento was dismissed.

After defeating North Korea, the UAE recorded 4 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses (13 points) and is currently positioned 3rd in Group A.

In this third round of the World Cup qualifiers for the Asia region, direct tickets to the finals are awarded to the 1st and 2nd place teams from each group. The matches are played in a home-and-away format for a total of 10 matches.

Even if the UAE does not qualify directly for the finals, it can challenge once again for a spot in the finals in the fourth qualifying round, where the 3rd and 4th place teams from each group can participate.

In the upcoming 9th match, the UAE will clash with 2nd place Uzbekistan. They must win to improve their ranking, but prevailing over the 'powerful' Uzbekistan is expected to be difficult, given they barely managed to defeat the last-placed North Korea.

In this situation, the UAE Football Association opted to dismiss head coach Bento.

The UAE achieved an overwhelming record of 5 wins and 1 draw in the second round, qualifying for the third round; however, they have not been able to overcome the barriers posed by Iran and Uzbekistan. As of the 26th, the UAE has played 8 matches in the third round, recording 4 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses (13 points), and is in 3rd place. The same group’s Iran has already secured its place in the finals with 20 points, while Uzbekistan is close behind with 17 points. In fact, the UAE has a chance for a dramatic turnaround by winning the upcoming home match against Uzbekistan on June 5, which would allow them to qualify for the World Cup finals alongside Iran, but the UAE Football Association decided not to wait. Particularly, the 0-2 defeat in the away match against Iran on the 20th served as the impetus for head coach Bento's dismissal. The UAE lost twice to Iran and also lost in their first encounter against Uzbekistan. The draw against North Korea at home last October was significant, as it was a match they absolutely had to win since North Korea has the weakest power but they barely managed to draw. Moreover, the UAE Football Association naturalized as many as eight players, including those from Brazil playing in the UAE League, to make a bold move before the away match against Iran and the home match against North Korea, but this reportedly yielded no significant effects.

In the Asian Cup, the UAE under Bento's leadership also failed to meet expectations.

In January 2024, at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held in Qatar, the UAE advanced to the round of 16 with a record of 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss in the group stage, but was eliminated after a penalty shootout against Tajikistan. This was a disappointing performance compared to the 2019 semifinals.

At that time, head coach Bento faced criticism from public opinion due to a decline in performance and the absence of Ali Mabkhout from the starting lineup.

Head coach Bento led the UAE in a total of 26 matches, recording 14 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses. With a winning percentage of approximately 53.9%, he boasted a high level among recent UAE national team coaches; however, the early elimination in the Asian Cup and poor performance in the latter half of the World Cup third qualifiers led him to step down.

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