Latest news with #UAEFootball
The National
10-06-2025
- Sport
- The National
UAE finish World Cup qualification round with frustrating draw in Kyrgyzstan
The UAE ended the latest phase of the convoluted Asian qualifying process for the 2026 World Cup in frustration as they were held to a draw by Kyrgyzstan. Kai Merk struck an equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time at the end of the game, to cancel out Harib Abdallah's first-half strike for the national team. It was a second draw in the final five days of round three of the qualifiers, and a drab way for the rejigged national team to sign off. Cosmin Olaroiu, the UAE coach, had said on the eve of the game in Bishkek that the fixture would be a test of the players' character. Not in the same way as Thursday night's game against Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi. Automatic qualification for the World Cup had been riding on that, so full focus was a given then. This was the inverse. The game was essentially meaningless: the UAE were already confirmed in the next phase of qualifying – a play-off in October – while Kyrgyzstan's qualifying hopes were already at an end. So, with nothing to play for, which players would still give everything they had? For whom would just wearing the national team colours be enough? There was good reason for most them to give their best. Olaroiu had shuffled his pack from Thursday. There were a couple of reasons for that. Most dramatically, two players – Khalid Al Dhanhani and Sultan Adil – had been thrown out for misconduct. Others were injured, while Olaroiu also had his mind on another disciplinary issue. He was wary that a number of players were at risk of second yellow cards which would rule them out of the first game of October's play-offs. Those who came in would have been looking to prove they were worthy of being first-choice starters. Abdallah, for one, had missed out on the starting XI against the Uzbeks, having been a key man under the reign of Paulo Bento, Olaroiu's predecessor. The young forward looked sharp from the off, and was rewarded for his industry with the opening goal. On the half-hour Luan Pereira won possession and threaded a pass through to Abdallah, and he made no mistake with the finish. Clearly, he had won his coach's attention: two minutes later, he limped to the sideline with a knock, and he got an affectionate pat on his head from Olaroiu while he was there. On the balance of play, the away side probably deserved the lead, but they still might have gone into the interval level. In the fourth minute of stoppage time at the end of the half, there was a lengthy VAR review. After a tense wait, during which Luan had to be separated from some Kyrgyz players, the referee upheld his original decision of no penalty, but only after an offside had been spotted. Just over 12,000 were at the Dolon Omurzakov Stadium to watch. Tellingly, that was 3,000 more than made it to the Al Nahyan Stadium five nights earlier when qualification was on the line for the UAE. The Kyrgyz fans seemed happy for a night out, even with nothing riding on it for their national team. And it proved to be worth the wait for the home faithful, who roared with delight when Merk fired home his late leveller.
Khaleej Times
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
UAE remain upbeat as battle for Fifa World Cup berth continues
The UAE will be aiming to lock down third spot when they travel to face Kyrgyzstan in their final Group A World Cup qualifying match (5:45 pm UAE Time) on Tuesday. Thursday's goalless draw with Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi ended UAE's hopes of automatic qualification for the 2026 Fifa World Cup and they side sit only a point ahead of Qatar, with both having sealed their places in the fourth round. Cosmin Olaroiu would have known before the tie against Uzbekistan that automatic qualification was going to be a long shot but the newly appointed head coach saw positives in the match and is already preparing for the next round. "You have a once in a lifetime chance,' Olaroiu said. 'I don't think you should talk about motivation as much as preparation. That is the most important thing. Now is the end of the season, we have a break, then the clubs will start their preparations. 'In September, there is (an international) break and we will have some friendly games. The preparation is very, very important because the work the clubs will do now will influence it.' So can the UAE still earn an automatic berth at the 2026 World Cup? Yes, the UAE still have a chance. The six teams in the fourth round will be divided into two groups of three teams. The winners of each group will earn the last two direct slots for the World Cup, while the two runners-up teams will be locked in a playoff battle. So the UAE need to win their group in the fourth round to qualify directly for the World Cup. But if they fail to win their group and finish second, they will play the runners-up team from the other group in a playoff. The winner of the playoff will then advance to an inter-confederation playoff tournament featuring five other teams for the final two slots in the World Cup. Meanwhile, Australia's Connor Metcalfe has warned his teammates to avoid reacting to Saudi Arabia's gamesmanship when the nations face off in Jeddah on Tuesday with automatic qualification for next year's World Cup finals on the line. Tony Popovic's outfit go into the meeting at the King Abdullah Sports City with one foot on the plane to North America after a 1-0 win over Japan on Thursday bought the Socceroos breathing room in their quest for a place at the finals. Despite that advantage, Metcalfe has sought to ensure the Australians do not allow their focus to slip ahead of a crucial 90 minutes that will be played out in front of more than 50,000 fans and in stifling heat. "There's going to be a lot of diving, a lot of acting, but it's about just blocking the noise out, focusing on ourselves and doing the best we can," said the St. Pauli midfielder. "You can't get affected by any of it, because if you get affected by any of their little games or noise or whatever it is, then it's just going to affect the game, and they're going to get that little advantage over you." Australia hold a three point lead over Herve Renard's side and a large enough goal difference to leave the Saudis needing to win by five goals to climb into second and claim the last automatic berth from the current phase of Asian preliminaries. Japan have already secured top spot in Group C while Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea and Jordan have taken the other berths available to Asian nations at the expanded World Cup from the third phase of qualifying. A further two spots will be up for grabs from a fourth round of qualifiers to be played in October. Anything other than a significant win over the Australians would see Saudi Arabia finish third in Group C and enter that next phase, where they would join the UAE, Qatar, Iraq and Indonesia. Also battling for a place in the fourth round are Oman and Palestine, with the pair looking to secure either third or fourth place in Group B on Tuesday. The two countries face off against each other in Amman with the Palestinians needing to win to climb above Rashid Jaber's side and keep their World Cup qualification dream alive. Neither nation has played at the World Cup and Palestine go into the meeting having handed Kuwait a 2-0 defeat on Thursday to stay in the hunt for a spot in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Reuters
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
UAE FA kick two players out of national camp with heavy fines for misconduct
June 8 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates Football Association has suspended defender Khalid Al-Dhanhani and forward Sultan Adel for five domestic matches and fined each player 500,000 AED ($136,132.21) on Sunday for misconduct during a national team training camp. The players have left the camp with immediate effect due to a violation of disciplinary rules and will not travel with the squad to Kyrgyzstan for Tuesday's final third round match of Asia's World Cup 2026 qualifiers. "The disciplinary committee of the UAE Football Association has decided to suspend Sharjah player Khalid Al-Dhanhani and Shabab Al-Ahli player Sultan Adil for five domestic matches, and to impose a fine of Dh500,000 on each," the UAE FA said in a statement on Sunday. "They have also been removed from the senior national team list after committing a violation inside the national team training camp on June 7." With Iran and Uzbekistan qualifying for the World Cup after securing the top two spots in Group A, UAE will move into the fourth round of Asian qualifying along with Qatar, with the two Gulf teams set to finish third or fourth. In this round, group winners will earn direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup, while runners-up will proceed to the fifth round for another shot at reaching the finals. ($1 = 3.6729 UAE dirham)
The National
08-06-2025
- Sport
- The National
UAE World Cup plans hit as Khaled Al Dhanhani and Sultan Adil kicked out of squad and fined Dh500,000
The UAE's bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup has plunged further into difficulty after two key players were thrown out of the squad and heavily fined for disciplinary issues. Khaled Al Dhanhani and Sultan Adil have been stood down from the squad travelling to Kyrgyzstan for Tuesday's final match of the third round of Asian qualifying. They will also be banned from domestic football for five matches for an unspecified 'violation' during the current international window. 'The disciplinary committee of the UAE Football Association has decided to suspend Sharjah player Khalid Al Dhanhani and Shabab Al Ahli player Sultan Adil for five local matches, and to impose a fine of Dh500,000 on each,' the FA said in a statement on Sunday. 'They have also been removed from the senior national team list after committing a violation inside the national team training camp on June 7.' The issue is a major blow for Cosmin Olaroiu, the new coach, who has seen the newfound optimism over his appointment rapidly dissipate due to events over the past four days. Morale around the national team had soared after the Romanian – who turns 56 on the day the UAE play Kyrgyzstan – had replaced Paulo Bento as national team coach. The match against Kyrgyzstan itself is meaningless in terms of the bid for qualification. The national team's chances of automatically qualifying for the World Cup as one of the top two sides in the group were quashed when they drew with Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday night. However, Olaroiu is trying to build a side ready to compete for a place offered at a week-long, three-team round of matches in October. His contact time with the players is limited by the international schedule, and the game in Bishkek is a chance to impress his ideas on his new charges. Although the crime of the duo has not been disclosed by the FA, Olaroiu is likely to be furious about any breach of discipline, given the stakes. He will feel particularly let down by Al Dhanhani. The right-back is one of the mainstays of the national team, as shown when he scored a stunning goal in the UAE's shock win over Qatar in Doha in the first match of round three of qualifying. Just as pertinently, Al Dhanhani was a key figure in the Sharjah side which thrived under Olaroiu's management over recent seasons. Amid all the triumphs they had, the full back would noticeably seek out his coach first to celebrate. When Sharjah became just the second UAE club to win a major continental trophy, with the AFC Champions League Two final success in Singapore last month, Al Dhanhani and his young son euphorically toasted the win with Olaroiu. Al Dhanhani limped away from that 2-1 win against Lion City Sailors with his right ankle packed with ice. And yet Olaroiu has such faith in him that he named in his first starting XI, against the Uzbeks, just three weeks later. Adil, by contrast, did not feature against the Uzbeks, which has been typical of an injury-ravaged season. Olaroiu's predecessor, Bento, despaired at the continued absence of Adil due to a recurring knee injury. At one point, he even speculated that the young centre-forward might never play football again. That frustration was born from how highly Bento regarded Adil. The Portuguese coach had seen the Kalba-born striker thrive with a flurry of goals after giving him his debut in international football. Adil also provided the final, glorious moment of Bento's spell in charge, when he headed the winning goal late in stoppage time in the side's win against North Korea in March. Bento was sacked straight after that win, but Adil's productive 45-minute cameo as a substitute suggested he was at least on the path back to fitness. Now, though, he is set for another absence due to indiscipline. It is a major blow for Olaroiu, who will face questions on the subject when his side have their final training session in Bishkek on Monday evening. Olaroiu rued the fact that his side lacked a physical presence as they chased a vital win against the Uzbeks on Thursday night. As a strapping, target-man centre forward, Adil would have helped solved that issue, but he is now unavailable to the new coach.
The National
04-06-2025
- General
- The National
UAE train for World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan in Abu Dhabi
New UAE coach Cosmin Olaroiu talks to his players ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Uzbekistan at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi. All photos Chris Whiteoak / The National
