Bento Oni transforms UAE, last place in Gulf Cup → 7 wins in 8 games since taking office
Coach Paulo Bento (55), who was in charge of the Korean national soccer team, achieved his first win in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup. He made a refreshing start by winning the first game of the tournament.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), led by Coach Bento, won 3-1 against Hong Kong in the first match of Group C of the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup group stage held at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar at 11:30 pm (Korean time) on the 14th. With this, UAE, with 3 points added, ranked 2nd in the group. Iran, the 'champion candidate' in the same group, beat Palestine 4-1 and rose to first place in the group. Following Iran and the UAE, Hong Kong and Palestine are ranked 3rd and 4th in the group, respectively.
Looking at the FIFA rankings, the UAE has an advantage over Hong Kong. The UAE is 99th in the FIFA rankings, and Hong Kong is 150th. As expected, the UAE defeated Hong Kong without much difficulty. According to soccer statistics media Footmob, UAE had 71% of ball possession and was ahead in total shooting by 21 to 16. UAE had 7 effective shots. Among these, 5 decisive chances were created.
Coincidentally, it was a match between head coaches with ties to Korea. Coach Bento is the former head coach of the Korean national soccer team. He will remain in charge of the Korean national team until 2022. He is also the ‘longest-serving’ coach who has led the Korean national team for the longest time. He also left behind numerous achievements. He led the team to win the 2019 East Asia Cup and advance to the round of 16 of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. However, coach Bento and Korean soccer ended their partnership as their contract expired after the Qatar World Cup. After taking a break, Coach Bento took charge of the UAE in July of last year.
Hong Kong coach John Andersen served as the head coach of Incheon United in the professional soccer K League 1 from 2018 to 2019.
Coach Bento laughed during the confrontation between the two. Coach Bento brought out the 4-3-3 formation. The frontline striker was Sutan Adil Alamiri (Al-Ittihad Kalba), who was 20 years younger. ‘Birth number 10’ Fabio Lima (Al Wasl) was also a player to keep an eye on in the UAE. Hong Kong also responded with 4-3-3. Hong Kong is considered the weakest among the 24 teams participating in this tournament as it has the lowest FIFA ranking. However, on the 1st, they pulled off a surprise by beating China 2-1. He was not someone to be taken lightly.
It was tense in the beginning, but UAE had an opportunity in the 33rd minute of the first half. A penalty kick was awarded after a foul was committed against the opponent in the penalty box. Since the area where the foul occurred was along the penalty box line, the referee took a closer look through video review (VAR). After much deliberation, the referee declared a penalty kick. Alamiri, who took the kicker, pushed it in lightly.
The UAE continued its good mood. In the 38th minute of the first half, a mid-range shot hit the goalpost, causing disappointment. There was some shaky ball handling by the UAE goalkeeper, but it passed without any major problems. The first half ended 0-0.
In the second half, a crisis came to the UAE. An equalizer was allowed in the 4th minute of the second half. Hong Kong's wide midfielder Siu Kwan Chan saw a cross from the right and ran in to finish. The UAE defender was in a better position to block it, but Can showed concentration. He moved one step further than the defender and cut first. The score became 1-1.
But the UAE did not waver. In the 7th minute of the second half, side defender Zayed Sultan (Al Jazira) scored an additional goal. The Hong Kong goalkeeper continued to block UAE's shots, but Sultan, who was in front of the goal, pushed in at the end. Hong Kong players protested that it was offside, but this was not accepted. The UAE, which had some free time again, won 3-1 with a penalty kick goal from Yaha Al Gassani (Shabab Al Ahly) in extra time in the second half. The Asian Cup was off to a good start. FootMob gave the highest rating of 8.5 to ‘first goal scorer’ Alamiri.
Since coach Bento took over the leadership of the UAE, the team has been on a meteoric rise. In the 8 games played under coach Bento, he achieved 7 wins (1 loss). Last September, they won against Costa Rica, Bento's first game, by a score of 4-1, and then defeated Kuwait (1-0) and Lebanon (2-1). The UAE's upward trend continued in the Asian region at the 2026 North and Central America World Cup. After winning 4-0 against Nepal in November last year, they also recorded a 2-0 win against Bahrain. UAE also won 1-0 against Kyrgyzstan. They lost 0-1 to Oman on the 7th, but quickly changed the mood by catching Hong Kong.
The UAE was eliminated from the Gulf Cup held in January last year, finishing last in Group B (1 draw, 2 losses). However, with the arrival of coach Bento, he is showing a different side.
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