The UAE national team deserved third place in the Arab Cup

The former coach of Sharjah and the Iraqi national team, the Portuguese Jorvan Vieira, confirmed that the Arab Cup tournament that recently concluded in Qatar appeared at a higher technical level than expected, which reflects the remarkable development witnessed by the Arab teams during the past years, indicating that the technical performance of most of the participating teams was distinguished and impressive.

The tournament resulted in the Moroccan national team winning the title, while the Jordanian national team came in second place, and the Emirati and Saudi national teams shared third place.

Emirati “white”.

Vieira said in statements to “Emirates Today” that the UAE national team provided a distinguished technical performance in the Arab Cup, which qualified it to obtain third place equally with the Saudi national team, expressing his admiration for the performance of a number of national players, led by Ali Saleh, Majid Rashid, and goalkeeper Hamad Al-Muqbali, in addition to other players who have a promising future ahead of them.

Vieira added: “I have good knowledge of Emirati football. I worked in the professional league for several seasons with three clubs, where I coached Ittihad Kalba twice, Baniyas, and then Sharjah. All my memories with Emirati football are positive, and it was an important addition to my professional career and coaching reputation. I still follow Emirati clubs on a regular basis, and I have knowledge of their results, players and coaches.”

Inappropriate timing

Vieira pointed out that the Arab Cup cannot be compared to the Asian Cup or the African Cup of Nations in terms of importance, stressing that each tournament has its own uniqueness, but the participation of some teams with incomplete squads caused the tournament to lose part of its popular momentum, as the public was deprived of watching big stars, such as Egyptian Mohamed Salah.

He added that the timing of holding the Arab Cup was not appropriate because it coincided with the date of the African Cup of Nations, as only three days separated the final of the two tournaments, which led to the absence of a large number of stars.

Jordan and Iraq

Vieira stressed that the results of the Egyptian, Tunisia and Algerian teams in the Arab Cup cannot be negatively evaluated, given their participation in second-tier squads, stressing that the true picture of the levels of these teams will become clear during the African Cup of Nations with the participation of the main players.

He described the Jordanian team, which came in second place, as one of the best Arab teams, especially since it participated with most of its main players and gave a strong performance in all its matches, indicating that its next participation will be important, and that judging its level through the Arab Cup only makes it among the elite of the Arab teams.

Vieira also expressed his admiration for the Iraqi team, despite its participation in a squad that combines young and experienced players, describing the task of qualifying for the World Cup through the global playoff as difficult, and at the same time expressing his happiness with the special relationship that has linked him with the Iraqi people since he led the “Lions of Mesopotamia” team to win the 2007 Asian Cup.