Can Bento create a miracle of faith in the UAE? Expectations for the World Cup finals rise after 36 years

Can coach Paulo Bento create a miracle of faith in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)?

UAE (72nd in FIFA ranking) defeated Costa Rica (46th in FIFA ranking) 4-1 in a friendly match held at Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb, Croatia on the morning of the 13th (Korean time).

UAE used a 4-2-3-1 formation. Kaiu, Yahya Al Ghasani, Ali Saleh, Fabiu de Lima, Yahya Nader, Ali Salmin, Abdullah Idris, Khalid Al Hashemi, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalid Ibrahim, and Khalid Eissa took part.

Costa Rica used a 4-4-2 formation. Yoel Campbell, Manfred Ugalde, Randall Lille, Alejandro Bran, Sebastian Murillo, Jimmy Marin, Ronald Matarita, Francisco Calvo, Julio Cascante, Jeffrey Valverde and Keylor Navas participated.

UAE’s first goal was scored 16 minutes into the first half. After receiving a pass from Zi Lima, Al Ghasani dribbled brilliantly inside the penalty box and then shot toward the near post. The ball hit goalkeeper Navas’ hand and was sucked into the goal.

An additional goal was soon followed. In the 23rd minute of the first half, Al Gasani made a long shot toward the other side from outside the penalty box, and Saleh, who came in, passed toward the goal. Kaiu lightly pushed it into the empty goal.

The gap widened to 3 goals in the first half. In the 38th minute of the first half, Lima made a bold shot from a far away position. The ball drew a large parabola as it hit the opposing player and went exquisitely into the top of the goal.

In the second half, UAE took the lead. In the 8th minute of the second half, Al Gasani entered the penalty box after exchanging Lee Dae-il passes with Nader. And he succeeded in scoring with a calm finishing shot toward the corner of the goal from the front of the goal.

Although the UAE conceded a goal in the 19th minute of the second half, they were able to overcome Costa Rica with a 4-1 3-point victory.

With this victory, the UAE scored four or more goals for the first time in 39 months since winning 5-0 against Indonesia in June 2021. Coach Bento made the UAE dance even before his debut. The UAE was on a good track with two consecutive wins even before coach Bento took office, so they were able to take advantage of the upward trend.

Coach Bento is now aiming at the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, like coach Jurgen Klinsmann. The United Arab Emirates has never won the Asian Cup before. Still, we achieved a runner-up finish in the 1996 competition. In the previous competition, 2019, they showed their potential by placing 4th.

It will inevitably take time for Coach Bento’s color to fully take root in the UAE, so it will be difficult to achieve good results right away in the upcoming Asian Cup. When Coach Bento was in charge of the Korean national team, he achieved good results in the early days of his tenure, but faced difficulties during the Asian Cup and was criticized.

The UAE will also not expect outstanding performance from coach Bento in the Asian Cup right now. He announced that he had signed a three-year contract with coach Bento and would be with him until the North and Central America World Cup. What the UAE wants from coach Bento is to advance to the World Cup finals.

The UAE has no history of advancing to the finals except for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Until the 2022 World Cup, only 4.5 Asian countries could qualify for the World Cup. However, starting from the 2026 World Cup, the system will change from a 32-nation system to a 48-nation system, putting the UAE in a position to aim to advance to the World Cup.

This is because in the 48-nation World Cup, Asia is granted 8.5 World Cup qualification spots. Simply based on FIFA rankings, the UAE ranks 8th among Asian countries. Although the FIFA ranking does not fully reflect the country’s strength, the UAE has become a team that can aim to advance to the World Cup.

The group formation for the second qualifying round is not bad either. Although the group formation has not been completed as the first qualifying round has not yet been held, the team was placed in the same group as Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. According to the FIFA rankings, UAE is the highest. With recent momentum, it is expected that they will be able to advance to the third round without difficulty.

The third preliminary round is the final preliminary round. In the final qualifying round, a total of 18 countries are divided into 6 groups with 3 teams each and compete for a ticket to the World Cup. In the final qualifying round, the first and second place winners from each group will be given tickets to the World Cup finals. To put it bluntly, it is not easy for the UAE to get a ticket to the World Cup finals in the final qualifying round. This is because Asian powers such as Korea, Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran have a higher probability than the UAE.

However, there is still a way to get to the World Cup. It is possible to advance to the World Cup even in the Asian regional playoffs. The teams ranked 3rd and 4th in the final qualifying round will participate in the Asian regional playoffs. Six countries are divided into two groups of three teams, and even if you come in first place, you can win a ticket to the final World Cup qualifiers. With UAE’s strength, they can aim for a ticket to the World Cup through the Asian playoffs.소닉카지노

Even if we finish second in the group, hope is still alive. It is also possible to have a scenario in which the second-place teams from each group face off against each other and then compete in an intercontinental playoff to win. If the UAE somehow manages to get a ticket to the World Cup finals, the World Cup it has dreamed of for 36 years since 1990 will become possible. Just by making it to the World Cup finals, Coach Bento will become a hero for the UAE.