The Arab Cup is an opportunity to compensate for the failure of the World Cup and reconcile the fans

Athletes have confirmed that the Arab Cup, which begins today in the Qatari capital, Doha, represents a new opportunity for the national team and its Romanian coach, Olario Cosmin, to compensate for the failure of not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, correct the course, build a more stable team, and reconcile the fans.

They indicated that they are against the repeated changes at the level of the national team’s technical staff, which has had eight coaches over the course of eight years since 2017, demanding that Kuzmin continue until the end of his contract in 2027, with the aim of achieving technical stability, regardless of the team’s results in the tournament.

They told «Emirates Today» that the team has several goals in front of it in the Arab Cup, most notably competing for the title, and providing the opportunity for new elements to gain experience, in addition to starting early preparation for important competitions, most notably the 2027 Asian Cup, and compensating the sports street for the loss of the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in the history of UAE football, in addition to the need for the coach to settle on a fixed squad.

The team will play in the Arab Cup in the third group alongside the teams of Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait, and will begin its journey by meeting the Jordanian team (Al-Nashama) at Al-Bayt Stadium, the day after tomorrow, then face Egypt on the sixth of December at Lusail Stadium, and conclude its matches in the first round by meeting the Kuwaiti team on the ninth of the same day at Stadium 974.

An opportunity to arrange the papers

The former national team supervisor, technical analyst, Dr. Hassan Suhail, considered that the Arab Cup is a good opportunity to interact with strong teams, stressing that reaching advanced stages will be an important step on the path to preparing for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Suhail called on the Football Association to clearly define its goals during the next five years, with stability on the technical staff, in addition to selecting players according to precise criteria.

He added: “The Arab Cup is an opportunity for the team to catch their breath and put their cards in order, and it is also an important station for the new elements to prove their presence, and the players are required to return the smile to the fans after the failure of not qualifying for the World Cup.” Suhail stressed his support for Kuzmin’s continuation until the end of his contract, saying that the coach took over his job a short time ago after the dismissal of the Portuguese Paulo Bento, stressing his rejection of the phenomenon of frequent changes of coaches, which he described as a “negative phenomenon” in Emirates football.

He asked: “The important question is: What does the Football Association want from Cozmin and the players?”

For his part, sports commentator and technical analyst, Ali Hamid, described the Arab Cup tournament as “extremely important,” considering that the team’s participation in it represents relative compensation for not qualifying for the World Cup.

He said: “Qualifying for the World Cup was the biggest goal when Cosmin was hired to succeed Paulo Pinto, but he failed in three stages: completing Pinto’s career, then the Asian playoff qualifier for the World Cup, and then in the two matches with Iraq in the elimination playoff.”

He added: “The team is going to the Arab Cup in order to reconcile the fans, but when evaluating Cosmin’s experience, it cannot be said that he met the ambition of Emirati football, despite the availability of good tools for him.”

Hamid pointed out that the tournament will give the players important international experience before upcoming tournaments such as the Gulf Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup, stressing his preference for Kuzmin to continue until the end of his contract, “perhaps he will succeed in correcting the course.”

title

For his part, Dibba team manager, sports analyst, Juma Al-Abdouli, stressed that the biggest goal of participation should be to compete for the title, even though “nothing compensates for losing the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup,” as he put it.

Al-Abdouli confirmed the team’s readiness to appear in a strong and honorable manner, and added that he had hoped that the Football Association’s contract with Cosmin would extend until the end of the qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup.

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“Al-Abyad” is training seriously and focused in preparation for Jordan

Yesterday, the national team performed its second training session in Doha under the leadership of the Romanian coach, Elario Cosmin, in preparation for facing the Jordanian team, the day after tomorrow, at Al-Bayt Stadium, at nine o’clock in the evening, UAE time, at the beginning of its matches in the Arab Cup tournament held in Qatar from the first to the 18th of this December.

The team is competing in the tournament in the third group, which includes alongside it the teams of Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait.

Seriousness and high focus appeared in the team’s training, and the technical staff is working to raise the players’ readiness to the highest levels, in addition to settling on the starting lineup and the game plan with which the team will begin its journey in the tournament.