Bento, who is 'difficult to go to WC in share philosophy', was dismissed from UAE... "Bentu, who is obsessed with it, evaluates it as not a high-quality coach." Local media
Bento, who is 'difficult to go to WC in share philosophy', was dismissed from UAE... "Bentu, who is obsessed with it, evaluates it as not a high-quality coach." Local media
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Criticism continues after Paulo Bento was replaced.
The UAE Football Association announced on its official channel on the 26th (Korea Standard Time) that "it has decided to dismiss Portuguese coach Bento and his coaching staff."
Bento was replaced after leading UAE to a 2-1 victory in Group A's eighth match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Prince Bin Fad Sports City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The UAE, which captured North Korea, ranked third in Group A with four wins, one draw and three losses (13 points).
In the third qualifying round for the Asian region for the North-China World Cup, the top two teams in each group will be given a direct ticket to the finals. Ten games are played at home and away.
In Group A, Iran, the "leader" of the group, has decided on an early qualification regardless of the results of the remaining two matches. Uzbekistan (17 points) and the UAE are competing for the second place.
Even if the UAE does not go straight to the finals, it can try to go to the finals once again in the fourth qualifying round where the third to fourth places in each group can compete.
In the upcoming ninth game, the UAE will face Uzbekistan, which is second in the group. Although they must win and raise their rankings, the prevailing analysis is that it is not easy to beat "Kang-ho" Uzbekistan with a power of barely winning North Korea.
In this situation, the UAE Football Association chose to replace 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 advancing to the 2026 World Cup finals in North Korea and the U.S., but he dropped out with one year and eight months left in his term.
Immediately after taking office, Bento got off to a good start by winning 4-1 in an exhibition match with Costa Rica. In the second qualifying round for the World Cup Asia, which began in November 2023, he recorded five wins and one draw in six matches, and advanced to the final qualifying round by ranking first in Group H.
Bento, who drew attention by winning 5-0 against Qatar in the third qualifying round in November 2024, continued his hope of going straight to the World Cup finals by beating North Korea 2-1 in March this year.
However, the public sentiment rapidly deteriorated after losing 0-2 in an away match against Iran on March 20. In addition, North Korea, the lowest ranking North in the group, managed to win by scoring a theater goal in the extra time of the second half.
In the Asian Cup, the UAE under Bento's system did not meet expectations.
At the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held in Qatar in January 2024, the UAE had one win, one draw and one loss to advance to the round of 16 teams, but was eliminated after penalty shootouts in the match against Tajikistan. The performance was inferior to the 2019 semi-finals.
At that time, Bento was also criticized by public opinion for his poor performance and selection management excluding Alimavkut.
Bento led a total of 26 matches in the UAE, recording 14 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses. The winning rate was about 53.9%, which was the highest among UAE national team coaches recently, but he resigned due to early elimination from the Asian Cup and poor performance in the second half of the third qualifying round for the World Cup.
UAE's Alimarat Alyaum analyzed the background of the replacement, saying, "Bentu has been criticized for tactics and player use several times while leading the UAE national team."
"After losing 0-2 against Iran, Bento lost the trust of his fans," said former national goalkeeper Muataz Abdullah, who played 27 A matches for the UAE national team. "His personal skills are good, but his UAE organization was lacking." 토토사이트
The UAE Football Association naturalized as many as eight players, including Brazilians, who play in the UAE League, to boost the number of games ahead of the away match against Iran and North Korea, but it has reportedly not had much effect.
In the Asian Cup, the UAE under Bento's system did not meet expectations.
Since the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held in Qatar last year, the team has failed to meet expectations. The UAE had hoped to have a chance of reaching the semi-finals or higher, but stopped moving on to the round of 16.