DUBAI: A mixed 2024 for Paulo Bento’s UAE ended with ample Arabian Gulf Cup angst, but signs are still apparent for a glittering 2025.
Al-Wasl talisman Fabio De Lima’s 95th-minute penalty miss versus Oman sealed Group A-elimination in Kuwait and made it two successive regional editions without victory. Quite the comedown for an improving side that was tipped for glory at the 26th running of the cup.
Winter success, though, was never the true target. A rampant November in qualifying made hopes real of earning a World Cup return for the first time since 1990.
Arab News assesses the highs and lows of this intriguing calendar year, plus looks to the future.
Story of 2024
With feet firmly through the door after his July 2023 arrival, Bento could be under no illusions about what a first full year at the helm had to produce.
The ex-Portugal and South Korea supremo had several core tasks. He was asked to inspire an assault on last winter’s Asian Cup and guide the UAE through a generous second-round group in World Cup 2026 qualifying.
In addition, he had to lay the foundation for a sustained charge at automatic entry via the third round and succeed where recent predecessors had failed in the Arabian Gulf Cup.
Supplementary objectives involved further defining a style of play, continuing generational change and successful integration of a growing stream of naturalized options.
However, tournament failures would bookend the year for the team. Asian Cup debutants Tajikistan dumped the UAE out in a frustrating round-of-16 penalty shootout, while they followed rivals Qatar onto an early flight home at the Arabian Gulf Cup.
In contrast, serene second-round progress in World Cup 2026 qualifying came as Group G winners, with a plus-14 goal difference.
Their confidence then ballooned when the third round began with a redemptive 3-1 victory at double Asian Cup kings Qatar. This would deflate during a subsequent three-match winless run, including a demoralizing 1-1 home draw to Group A’s bottom-placed North Korea.
November’s qualifiers had to deliver, and they did. An emphatic 3-0 victory versus Kyrgyzstan was followed by a riotous and unforgettable 5-0 thumping of Qatar, containing a super hat-trick for De Lima.
A three-point gap to Group A runners-up Uzbekistan with four fixtures to fulfil is tantalizing.
It now appears the foundations have been set for a second-ever World Cup appearance. How Bento handles the secondary challenges that appeared in 2024 will define 2025.
New leaders emerge
Discussions regarding Bento’s tenure have often devolved into arguments about who has not been selected, rather than on those representing their nation.
Record goalscorer Ali Mabkhout has not been seen since playing zero minutes at the 2023 Asian Cup. Fellow veterans Majed Hassan and Bandar Al-Ahbabi are among those enjoying evergreen campaigns for their clubs yet are still overlooked by the Whites.
And Wasl golden boy Ali Saleh was the surprise name absent from the recent Arabian Gulf Cup, after late injury ruled him out of November’s qualifiers.
Tweaks will surely be made for March’s key matches at Iran and North Korea. A return to peak match fitness after serious injury by Al-Jazira’s metronome midfielder Abdullah Ramadan is essential.
But the noise that surrounds these calls should not distract from the leaders who emerged in 2024.
De Lima netted six times in the calendar year, while maturing Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club flyer Yahya Al-Ghassani joined him on the same tally, with several efforts of sublime quality. And Sharjah fullback Khalid Ibrahim has proved his dependability.
Most pertinently, however, was the increasing torrent of naturalized selections who defined 2024, led by the versatile Marcus Meloni, Al-Ain center-back Kouame Autonne and Fleetwood Town’s Mackenzie Hunt.
New faces, new questions
A UAE Football Association naturalization plan of over five years in the making is bearing fruit.
The aforementioned trio, plus the likes of lively Ajman midfielder Isam Faiz and emerging Montpellier forward Junior Ndiaye, are changing the face of Emirati football.
Al-Wahda center-back Lucas Pimenta travelled to Kuwait, as did teenage Al-Ain midfielder Solomon Sosu. Many more will come online throughout the latter stages of World Cup 2026 qualifying.
This potentially includes Caio Canedo who has a formidable 11-goal contribution in 10 ADNOC Pro League runouts for Sharjah in 2024/2025.
It is now up to Bento to make the most of this harvest. Getting the blend right is critical.
Does defense need a facelift?
Only Iraq and omnipotent Japan have conceded fewer goals than the UAE in third-round qualifying.
So far, so solid. Yet, a fragility on display at the Arabian Gulf Cup is of concern.
Jazira center-back Khalifa Al-Hammadi erred in last month’s 2-1 Kuwait defeat, and international partner Autonne was also dismissed in that match.
Pimenta is now on board, with his hugely impressive Tunisia-born club-mate Alaeddine Zouhir a future naturalized option.
Returns for Shabab Al-Ahli full-backs Ahmad Jamil and Bader Nasser would be welcomed. And goalkeeper Hamad Al-Meqebaali, 21, is an enviable prospect who looks poised for senior action.
Mission to find another Mabkhout
Last year began with a change of the guard up top.
The 85-goal Mabkhout was watching in Qatar as an emergent Sultan Adil got among the Asian Cup scorers. The powerful latter-mentioned striker has, however, been unable to feature for Shabab Al-Ahli or his country this season.
The UAE have netted 12 times in the third round, equaling Iran and South Korea’s tallies while outscoring Qatar, Iraq, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
Seasoned Wasl campaigners De Lima and Caio Canedo still pack a punch but more is expected, however, from Jazira forward Bruno Conceicao, with Ndiaye’s international career also still to ignite.
Bento must surely want Adil involved for March’s seismic away trips.
