"What has he done for the national team?"
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Football Association announced on the 26th (Korea time) through its official channel that it has decided to dismiss Portuguese national coach Bento and his coaching staff. Bento was dismissed after leading the UAE to a 2-1 victory against North Korea in the 8th match of Group A in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asia zone third qualifying round held at Prince Bin Fahd Sports City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With the win against North Korea, the UAE recorded 4 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses (13 points) and is currently in third place in Group A. The top two teams in each group will receive direct tickets to the finals in the ongoing North-Central America World Cup Asia zone third qualifying round. A total of 10 matches will be played in a home-and-away format. Iran (20 points), currently in first place in Group A, has already secured a spot in the finals regardless of the results of the remaining two matches. The UAE is competing with Uzbekistan (17 points) for second place.
Even if the UAE does not qualify directly for the finals, it can challenge for a spot in the finals again in the fourth qualifiers where the third and fourth place teams from each group can participate. In the upcoming 9th match, the UAE will compete against second-place Uzbekistan. It must win to improve its ranking, but it is widely analyzed that overcoming Uzbekistan, a strong team, will not be easy, given that the UAE barely defeated last-place North Korea.
In this context, the UAE Football Association chose to dismiss coach Bento. Bento took charge of the UAE national team on July 9, 2023. He signed a three-year contract with the goal of qualifying for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup, but stepped down with 1 year and 8 months left in his term.
Bento had a smooth start by winning 4-1 against Costa Rica in a friendly just after taking office. In the second round of the World Cup Asia qualifiers, which began in November 2023, he recorded 5 wins and 1 draw in 6 matches, finishing first in Group H and advancing to the final qualifiers. In the third preliminary round in November 2024, he drew attention by winning 5-0 against Qatar and kept the hope of direct qualification for the World Cup alive by defeating North Korea 2-1 in March of this year.
However, public opinion deteriorated sharply after losing 0-2 in the away match against Iran on March 20. Additionally, North Korea, ranked at the bottom of the group, barely won with a dramatic late goal in the second half. Under Bento's leadership, the UAE did not meet expectations in the Asian Cup.
In the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held in Qatar, 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 semifinal achievement of 2019.
At that time, coach Bento faced criticism from the public for the decline in performance and for excluding Ali Mabkhout from the starting lineup.
Bento oversaw a total of 26 matches in the UAE, recording 14 wins, 5 draws, and 7 losses. His win rate of about 53.9% is considered high among recent UAE national team coaches, but he stepped down due to early elimination in the Asian Cup and poor performance in the latter half of the World Cup third qualifying round.
UAE media outlets appear to welcome the departure of coach Bento. UAE's 'Al-Ittihad' noted that "Bento faced numerous criticisms regarding his tactics and player utilization while leading the UAE," reflecting a reaction of acclaim towards his dismissal.
Responses from UAE fans on social media also seem to welcome the dismissal of coach Bento. One UAE fan said, "I heard good news since morning. Now I have hope for our national team." Another fan expressed satisfaction, stating, "I thank Allah and the Football Association. I’m really glad."
'Emirates Al-Yawm' continued to provide even stronger criticism. This outlet mentioned, "The decision to dismiss coach Bento itself came too late. This has caused the team to fall into crisis. Despite overwhelming support from the association, he failed to build the team at all," and pointed out, "He consistently underperformed throughout his term."
It continued, "Bento's dismissal is not sudden; it's actually overdue. It's purely a matter of performance. Despite the strengthening of the team with naturalized players, he struggled against Iran and North Korea. Since Bento did nothing for the national team, he had to be cut without fail."
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