Coach Paulo Bento led the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Asian Cup and won the first match of the competition.
UAE (64th in FIFA rankings), led by coach Bento, faced Hong Kong (Korean time) in the first round of Group C of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Qatar Asian Cup held at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar at 11:30 pm on the 14th (hereinafter Korean time).
ranked 150th in the FIFA rankings) by a score of 3-1.
Group C includes Iran, UAE, Hong Kong, and Palestine. Iran and the UAE are likely to advance to the tournament, and both teams achieved big wins in their first matches.
Iran defeated Palestine 4-1, and the UAE defeated Hong Kong 3-1, and Iran was at the top of the group due to its goal difference.
The next games are UAE vs. Palestine and Iran vs. Hong Kong. In terms of objective power
there is a high possibility that the UAE and Iran will compete again.
Then, both will get two wins, and will fight for first place in the group in the final match of the group stage.
If Coach Bento’s UAE beats Iran and takes first place in the group, there is a possibility that they will face South Korea. 바카라사이트닷컴
In the Asian Cup tournament bracket, the winner of Group E 1st place vs. the 2nd place winner of Group D and the winner of Group C 1st place vs. the winner of 3rd place in Groups A/B/F will face each other in the quarterfinals.
Korea is expected to easily take first place in Group E, in the same group as Jordan, Bahrain, and Malaysia.
If the UAE takes first place in the group, a meeting in the quarterfinals is expected.
Coach Bento took charge of Korea prior to the UAE. In August 2018, he took charge of the South Korean national team
At that time, public opinion was not good. A voice of dissatisfaction leaked out, asking
Why did you bring in a director who has failed in so many places?’ In addition
the situation only worsened, including unreliable build-up soccer and elimination in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Asian Cup.
However, Ben Tujo moved forward steadily and achieved fruition at the World Cup, which was his biggest goal.
By successfully advancing to the round of 16 for the first time in 12 years, people around the world were able to enjoy the festival even more.
Above all, it provided a new paradigm by providing soccer that does not back down even against strong teams.
In this way, Coach Bento’s four and a half year contract period ended with ‘expiration’.
Coach Bento was able to enjoy the joy of leaving with applause for the first time in a long time since his days at Sporting.
Coach Bento said, “I think the most important thing is to have faith in our soccer. Knowing what to do and how to do it and setting principles accordingly. In fact, this is not only true in soccer but also in life.
We explain our goals to the players from the beginning. “I did it, and the players followed with faith,” he said, looking back on the past four years.
He continued, “Thanks to that, I think we were able to reach the round of 16. The current style has never existed before.
It was possible because the players thought it was possible and followed along with faith and goals. Overall, I would like to congratulate the players. “I want to.
I was able to overcome difficult moments with the professionalism and team spirit shown during the World Cup,” he said, expressing his gratitude.
The next destination was UAE. And at the inauguration press conference, “The UAE national team has important competitions ahead. The most important are the 2026 World Cup qualifiers starting next November, and the Asian Cup to be held in Qatar in January next year. Our ambitions are in these competitions. “It is to achieve this,” he said.
“In addition to previous information about the UAE national team, we have a plan of action for the upcoming period. We will work to identify players more accurately and emphasize that selection criteria will be based on performance and attitude, regardless of age. “He added.
Lastly, he said, “Winning is the way to make UAE fans happy. We need to focus on the present and look to the future. And we need to respect past efforts without looking at the past.”
Coach Bento is keeping his promise to the UAE. Since his appointment, he has been cruising with 7 wins and 1 loss in 8 games. In his first major tournament, the Asian Cup, he got off to a good start with a triumphant victory.
UAE used a 4-3-3 formation. Fabiu Rima, Sultan Adil, Kaiu, Abdallah Ramadan, Yahya Nader, Tahnoun Al Zabi, Abdullah Idris, Bader Al Mutawa, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Zayed Sultan and Khalid Eisa were the starters.
Hong Kong, led by coach John Andersen, had starting players Pun Phui Hin, An Yong-ga, Yvertong Camargo, Chan Siu-kwan, Tan Tian Lok, Wu Chun-ming, Chan Shin-ichi, Lee Ngai-hoi, Oliver Gerbig, Wee Chen-nam and Yap Hung-pai.
The UAE took the lead and ran the game. They threatened Hong Kong by playing passes based on possession. Coach Bento’s emphasis on build-up was evident. However, he rarely took the opportunity and failed to score the first goal quickly.
After all, he scored the first goal. In the 33rd minute of the first half, Hong Kong Oliver Gerbig committed a handball foul and a penalty kick was awarded. The UAE took the lead as Sultan Adil took the kicker and finished in the bottom left corner.
UAE’s additional goal was canceled out. In the 39th minute of the first half, Lima shot in front of the penalty box, and the ball deflected off the defense and hit the crossbar. The first half ended with the UAE leading 1-0.
A tense situation developed in the second half, and Hong Kong succeeded in maintaining balance. In the 4th minute of the second half, a sharp cross came from the right side, and Chan Siu-kwan, who was rushing towards the goal, won the duel and pushed in. Score 1-1.
The UAE took the lead again. In the 7th minute of the second half, Abdallah Ramadan received a pass from Abdullah Idris and fired a powerful shot inside the penalty box. The ball hit the goalkeeper’s hand, and Sultan Adil’s second ball shot was also blocked by the goalkeeper. Zayed Sultan shot again and hit the net.
UAE’s key goal came in extra time in the second half. In the 3rd minute of added time in the second half, Yahia Al Ghasani was rough tackled in the penalty box. The referee declared a penalty kick after reviewing the video. Yahia Al Ghasani took the penalty kick and successfully kicked it to the left.
Meanwhile, after retiring from active duty, Coach Bento entered his leadership career as a Sporting youth coach in 2004. He became the first-team manager in 2005 and finished second in the league that season, earning a ticket to the Champions League (UCL). Coach Bento, who was rewarded with a new contract, stayed in the team until 2009 and won the Tasa de Portugal (FA Cup) twice and the Supertaça (Super Cup) twice. Although they finished second in the league the previous season, it was an achievement worthy of recognition.
Next was the Portuguese national team. Coach Bento got off to a good start by advancing to the Euro 2012 finals and reaching the semifinals of Euro 2012. He then extended his contract until Euro 2016, four months after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They failed to advance to the round of 16 due to major negative factors such as injury wards. And three months later, he was sacked after losing 0-1 against Albania in the first match of the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
My first experience of being dismissed from the Portuguese national team. It was only the beginning. Coach Bento was later dismissed due to poor performance in Cruzeiro (Brazil) after about two months, recording 4 wins, 3 draws, and 8 losses in 15 games. It continued. In Olympiacos (Greece), the front office and certain players were dismissed after criticizing them through a press conference. At the time, the club’s dissatisfaction with selling key players upset the owners. Lastly, Coach Bento was appointed to Chongqing Liangjiang Jingji (China) in 2017. It was the same here too. The poor performance continued with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 8 losses in 15 games. So he had to pack his bags again after 7 months.
Coach Bento has achieved success in Korea for the first time in a long time, and hopes to continue his glory in the UAE.