Coach Paulo Bento has selected him to be part of the UAE national team for the 2026 World Cup qualifying double-header against Nepal and Bahrain starting this month.
The Portuguese coach, who was appointed in July, begins his competitive career on November 16 with a home match against Nepal in Dubai, before the national team travels to Bahrain to face their Gulf rivals five days later.
On Friday, the Football Association announced the 28-man list for the two games, with all-time top scorer Ali Mabkhout joining the squad at the top. However, veteran Sharjah striker Sebastian Tagliabue, 38, was left out and 20-year-old Al Ain forward Eissa Khalfan, who is yet to be capped for the UAE, joined the attack.
Other called-up players with less international experience include Al Jazira right-back Zayed Sultan (22), Al Wasl left-back Abdulrahman Saleh (24), and Al Ain midfielder , including 18-year-old Hazim Mohamed.
Meanwhile, Wasl midfielder Ali Salmeen will return to the national team after being absent recently due to injury.
Bent, 54, will be aiming for a fast start to World Cup qualifying as the UAE join Group H alongside Bahrain, Nepal and Yemen. The latter two teams then made it through the playoffs last month and advanced to the second round.
UAE will host Nepal at Al Maktoum Stadium before facing Bahrain at Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa. Bento, who replaced Rodolfo Arruaballena as manager, is responsible for leading the UAE’s bid to qualify for the World Cup and overseeing major developments in the 2023 Asian Cup.
Although the UAE is his first managerial experience in the Gulf region, the former Sporting and Portugal head coach is no stranger to Asian football. He led South Korea to qualification for last year’s World Cup and led the team to the knockout stages in Qatar, where they lost to Brazil.
The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and the number of participating teams has expanded to 48. The UAE has only reached the world finals once, in 1990.
Updated: November 3, 2023, 10:01 AM