New UAE boss Paulo Bento faces big challenges as Whites look to future

RIYADH: The UAE’s World Cup 2026 cycle is officially underway after the appointment of ex-Portugal and South Korea head coach Paulo Bento on a three-year contract.

Bento, 54, was revealed on Sunday as the nation’s sixth permanent appointment – Bert van Marwijk was hired twice – since March 2019.

He has arrived from his record four-year spell at the Taegeuk Warriors with the mission of securing a second-ever qualification to the expanded global event and building on successive semi-final appearances when this winter’s delayed 2023 AFC Asian Cup gets underway in Qatar.

To achieve these sizeable aims, a significant number of challenges must be met. Here is a look at the bulging in-tray of Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s replacement:

A juggling act between old and new

Bento’s contrasting words as the UAE’s latest boss spoke about the difficulties inherent in the position.

Speaking at the UAE Football Association’s Al-Khawaneej headquarters on the outskirts of Dubai, he said: “We are looking forward to start working to try to reach our goals.

“We know it will be a long process where we would like to reach stability for the team, for the federation.

“But we want to be ambitious, of course; this is our goal. We know we have a competition in January (Asian Cup), then the World Cup in 2026.”

A long process could be taken to mean this will now gradually become the team of Al-Wasl forward Ali Saleh, Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club attacker Yahya Al-Ghassani, Sharjah midfielder Majid Rashid, and even Ittihad Kalba’s Sultan Adil.

But the UAE have no time to waste after several unsatisfactory years and Bento must be ambitious.

Can 81-goal record scorer Ali Mabkhout be coaxed into playing a major role for 2026? Will 32-year-old Caio