After the angst and the acrimony of the Asian Cup, the UAE return to competitive action in the rather more comfortable confines of 2026 World Cup qualifying Round 2.
Two matches in, the national team sit top of Group H, having last November opened their latest attempt to reach a second global finals with full points.
The UAE cast aside Nepal, the lowest-ranked team at this point, 4-0 in Dubai, then recorded a rousing 2-0 victory against Bahrain in Riffa.
Optimism was high, therefore, for another deep run at the Asian Cup. Better still, the UAE had begun life well with manager Paulo Bento. Appointed in July, the Portuguese guided his new side to six wins in his first six games; the 1-0 defeat to Oman in a friendly eight days out from Qatar felt more an aberration than an accurate precursor as to what was to come.
But, in Doha, the UAE came up significantly short. The opening 3-1 triumph against Hong Kong appeared more convincing on paper than it did on the pitch, and from there the national team stuttered before ultimately stumbling out from the last 16.
They failed to win a second match, eking through to the knockout stages as Group C runners-up on goal difference. In the all-or-nothing encounter with Tajikistan, tournament debutants although outstanding with Petr Sergt in charge, the UAE were outplayed and eventually undone.
Caio Canedo missed the crucial spot-kick in the shootout after Khalifa Al Hammadi’s last-gasp header had forced extra-time, and their race was run. Following successive semi-final appearances, the UAE could not make the last eight.
Of course, Bento faced questions on his future. On a series of selections, too, chiefly in excluding from the line-up, and then expelling from the squad, Ali Mabkhout.
The UAE’s all-time leading goalscorer, an Asian Cup Golden Boot winner, did not feature in all four fixtures in Qatar. Not when Sultan Adil, his precocious 19-year-old replacement, picked up an injury in the second game against Palestine and was pretty much ruled out for the tournament. Instead, Bento opted for Yahya Al Ghassani, nominally a winger, to lead the line.
Two months on, and Adil is back, as expected, in the squad. Mabkhout is not. Al Jazira are winless in their past three Adnoc Pro League matches and, in the most recent, against Kalba last Thursday, Mabkhout was subbed at half-time.
With the UAE, his continued omission – Bento said on Wednesday, Mabkhout's absence was due to his "really bad" attitude in training sessions – leaves a void up front.
However, if it represents a clean break from one generation, Bento is clearly looking to the next. In Adil, he has a genuinely exciting frontman who combines physical prowess with an obvious hunger to thrive with the national team and, crucially, a predator’s instinct.
Adil excelled, albeit briefly, at the Asian Cup, scoring in both of his appearances. The anticipation is he will again for the UAE, beginning in the World Cup qualifying double-header against Yemen that plays out this week and next.
He could offer Bento a respite from the criticism that cascaded in the aftermath of the Asian Cup. Vitally, the former Portugal and South Korea manager has retained support from the federation; he is six competitive matches into what his employers hope is a path that leads to the 2026 World Cup.
Yemen on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, and then again in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, provides Bento and the UAE the chance to reset and refocus. Win both, and they progress to the third round at the earliest opportunity.
It would then allow the 'Bento Rebuild', still in its infancy, space to breathe before the considerably more taxing next phase rolls around in September.
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
