With little hope of qualifying for the World Cup, UAE coach Paulo Bento is sacked

The UAE Football Association (UAEFA) officially announced on Wednesday that Paulo Bento, 55, is no longer the head coach of the national team.

In the 8th round of Group A of the third stage of the 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers, the UAE defeated North Korea 2-1 with a key goal from Sultan Adil. They currently rank third in the group with 4 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses and 13 points, retaining a glimmer of hope to qualify for the World Cup.

However, Paulo Bento's coaching performance did not meet the expectations of the UAE Football Association. They hired Bento as the head coach of the UAE national team in July 2023, hoping that he would lead the team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. However, Bento only achieved 14 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses with 9 naturalized starters and 4 naturalized substitutes, and lost 0-2 to Iran, the leader of Group A, last Thursday. As the hope of qualifying for the World Cup is slim, the UAE Football Association finally decided to remove Bento from the position of head coach.

As for Bento's successor, the UAE Football Association said it would make a decision as soon as possible: "The new coach is expected to take office soon and lead the team in Group A of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and other official competitions."

Bento's successor will lead the team to two key World Cup qualifiers in June, against Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. If they beat Uzbekistan, the UAE still has a chance to qualify directly for the World Cup.