토토사이트Coach Paulo Bento won his first game leading the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The UAE won 4-1 against Costa Rica in a friendly match held at the Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb, Croatia on the morning of the 13th. As a result, the UAE got off to a good start under Bento’s system, winning the first game since coach Bento took office.
UAE used a 4-2-3-1 formation. Kaiou, Al Ghasini, Saleh, Zi Lima, Nair, Salmin, Idris, Al Hashemi, Al Hammadi, Ibrahim, and Eisa were the starters.
Costa Rica fought back with a 4-4-2 formation. Campbell, Ugalde, Lille, Bran, Murillo, Marin, Matarita, Calvo, Cascante, Valverde and Navas were named in the starting lineup.
It was a game where Costa Rica was expected to win. The UAE’s FIFA ranking is 72nd, and Costa Rica’s FIFA ranking is 46th. Moreover, the UAE had just had a new coach. After saying goodbye to the Korean national team at the end of the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup, coach Bento took a short break before taking up the position as UAE coach. There was news that he could head to the Polish national team, but Bento’s choice was the UAE.
UAE, led by Coach Bento, defied expectations in the early part of the first half. In the 16th minute of the first half, Al Gassini, who received a pass from De Lima, beat Costa Rica’s defense and attempted a low shot with his right foot to score the first goal. Costa Rica’s goalkeeper Navas extended his hand, but was unable to completely block Al Gassini’s shot.
Soon an additional goal was scored. Al Ghasini, who scored the first goal in the 23rd minute of the first half, exchanged passes with a teammate and then sent a long pass, which Saleh lightly turned toward Kaiou, who was in front of the goal. Thanks to the goalkeeper leaving the goal, Kaiu was able to easily score an additional goal.
UAE, riding on momentum, scored its third goal in the first half alone. In the 37th minute of the first half, Salmin’s surprise mid-range shot from a distance was sucked into the goal. The first half ended with the UAE leading 3-0.
UAE scored in the second half. In the 8th minute of the second half, Al Ghasini passed into the box after giving a pass to Nader, and Nader immediately passed to Al Ghasini. Al Ghasini finished the attack with a right-footed shot, scoring the team’s fourth goal. Afterwards, Costa Rica scored a consolation goal, but the game ended with a 4-1 victory for the UAE. With this, Coach Bento achieved a resounding victory in his first game since taking office as a member of the UAE national team.
At the time of his appointment to the UAE national team, Coach Bento said, “The UAE has important competitions ahead. The 2026 North and Central America World Cup and the Asian Cup to be held in Qatar in January next year are also important. We must achieve our ambitions in the competition. We are the UAE national team. “We have information about, as well as plans for the future. We will try to accurately identify players, and the criteria for selection will be performance and attitude.”
It was a bittersweet match for Korean fans who had been with coach Bento for four years and witnessed the success of the round of 16 of the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Korea decided not to continue working with coach Bento after the Qatar World Cup ended, and appointed coach Jurgen Klinsmann as coach Bento’s successor.
Klinsmann, who started amidst many concerns, has not won in five games. Starting with the match against Colombia, which was coach Klinsmann’s first game, all five games ended in draws or losses. In his most recent game against Wales, his performance did not improve and he received a lot of criticism, and in addition, negative views towards Coach Klinsmann accumulated due to the controversy over the outing.
The fact that it was compared to the work attitude of his predecessor, coach Bento, also had an impact. Coach Bento has approached the game with a clear concept from the beginning of his tenure. Regardless of the result of the game, it was clear what style of soccer Coach Bento was pursuing.
In the end, Klinsmann scored his first victory in his sixth match. Klinsmann won against Saudi Arabia, led by coach Roberto Mancini, thanks to Cho Kyu-sung’s winning goal. However, there are still voices of disappointment because the scoring process was not clean and it was not confirmed that the performance itself had improved.
Meanwhile, there is a possibility that Coach Bento may face Korea as an enemy. UAE will also participate in the Asian Cup next year. Depending on the matchup, Coach Bento may face Korea, whom he led for four years, as an enemy.
In the end, Klinsmann scored his first victory in his sixth game. Klinsmann won against Saudi Arabia, led by coach Roberto Mancini, thanks to Cho Kyu-sung’s winning goal. However, there are still voices of disappointment because the scoring process was not clean and it was not confirmed that the performance itself had improved.