"I wish for only good things."

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Football Association announced on the 26th (Korean time) via its official channel that it has decided to dismiss head coach Bento, a Portuguese national, and his coaching staff.

On this day, after leading the UAE to a 2-1 victory against North Korea in the 8th match of Group A of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asia third qualifying round held at Prince Bin Fahd Sports City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Coach Bento was sacked.

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

In this third qualifying round for the World Cup in North and Central America, direct tickets to the finals are granted to the top two teams in each group. A total of 10 matches will be played in a home-and-away format.

In Group A, Iran, currently in 1st place (20 points), has already secured its place in the finals regardless of the results of the remaining two matches. The competition for the 2nd place spot is between Uzbekistan (17 points) and the UAE.

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

In the upcoming 9th match, the UAE will clash with Uzbekistan, currently in 2nd place in the group. They must win to improve their ranking, but analysis suggests that it will not be easy to defeat the 'strong team' Uzbekistan, having just narrowly beaten the bottom-ranked North Korea.

In this situation, the UAE Football Association chose to dismiss Coach Bento.

Coach Bento took office as the UAE national team manager on July 9, 2023. He signed a 3-year contract with the goal of qualifying for the 2026 North and Central America World Cup, but left midway through with 1 year and 8 months remaining in his term.

Immediately after taking office, Coach Bento had a smooth start, winning 4-1 in a friendly match against Costa Rica. In the World Cup Asia second qualifying round that began in November 2023, the UAE recorded 5 wins and 1 draw in 6 matches, ranking 1st in Group H and advancing to the final qualifying round.

In November 2024, Coach Bento gained attention after a 5-0 victory in the third qualifying round against Qatar. In March of this year, the UAE defeated North Korea 2-1, maintaining hopes for direct qualification to the World Cup.

However, public opinion worsened sharply after a 0-2 loss in an away match against Iran on March 20. To make matters worse, they narrowly defeated the bottom-ranked North Korea with a dramatic late goal in the second half.

Under Coach Bento, the UAE also fell short of expectations in the Asian Cup.

In the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held in Qatar in January 2024, the UAE advanced to the Round of 16 with 1 win, 1 draw, and 1 loss in the group stage, but was eliminated after a penalty shootout against Tajikistan. This result was modest compared to the 4th place finish in 2019.

At that time, Coach Bento received public criticism due to declining performance and his lineup choices excluding Ali Mabkhout.

Coach Bento led the UAE in a total of 26 matches, recording 14 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses. With a win rate of about 53.9%, he boasted a high standard among recent UAE national team coaches, but ultimately stepped down due to early elimination in the Asian Cup and poor performance in the second half of the World Cup third qualifying round.

Jung Mong-kyu, president of the Korea Football Association (KFA), also posted a message regarding Coach Bento on his official social media. He noted, "I was surprised to hear that Coach Bento, who created good memories with the South Korean national team, has been dismissed from the UAE," emphasizing, "I wish for a bright future for him."

He added, "I support a bright future for Coach Bento," followed by a hashtag expressing his wishes for his successful career.

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