United Arab Emirates national football team

United Arab Emirates
Nickname(s)	Al Abyad (The Whites); Eyal Zayed (Sons of Zayed)
Association	UAE Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF (West Asia)
Head coach	Bert van Marwijk
Most caps	Adnan Al Talyani (161)
Top scorer	Ali Mabkhout (68)
FIFA code	UAE
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	73 1 (7 April 2021)
Highest	40 (November – December 1998)
Lowest	138 (January 2012)
First international
	United Arab Emirates 1–0 Qatar ; (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 17 March 1972)
Biggest win
	Brunei 0–12 United Arab Emirates ; (B. S. Begawan, Brunei; 14 April 2001)
Biggest defeat
	United Arab Emirates 0–8 Brazil ; (Abu Dhabi, UAE; 12 November 2005)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 1990)
Best result	Group stage (1990)
Asian Cup
Appearances	10 (first in 1980)
Best result	Runners-up (1996)
Confederations Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 1997)
Best result	Group Stage (1997)

The United Arab Emirates national football team (Arabic: منتخب الإمارات العربية المتحدة لكرة القدم) represents United Arab Emirates in international association football and serves under the auspices of the country's Football Association.

It has made one World Cup appearance in 1990 in Italy and lost all three of its games. United Arab Emirates took fourth place in the 1992 Asian Cup and runner-up in 1996 as host. It won the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2007 and 2013. It finished third in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and hosted the 2019 edition which it was eliminated in the semi-finals.

History[edit]

The first match of the team was played on 17 March 1972 against Qatar at Riyadh's Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium and won with the only goal scored by Ahmed Chowbi. Then, the team faced three other Arabian countries, losing 4–0 and 7–0 to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait respectively and beating Bahrain 3 to nothing. After participating in four Gulf Cup tournaments since 1972, United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosted the 1982 edition. It again finished third as did in the two previous tournaments.

In 1980, United Arab Emirates first-time qualified for the AFC Asian Cup which was held in Kuwait and were drawn with eventual winners, Kuwait, runner-up South Korea, Malaysia and Qatar in Group B. It drew 1–1 with Kuwait and lost the three other matches and finished in fifth place in the group and ninth (out of ten teams) overall. It also qualified for next two tournaments, 1984 in Singapore and 1988 in Qatar and was again eliminated in the group stages in both. Its first victory of the tournament occurred against India on 7 December 1984, under manager Heshmat Mohajerani.

In 1984, Mohajerani resigned and was replaced with Carlos Alberto Parreira. Parreira led the team at the 1988 Asian Cup and left his position after the tournament. He was succeeded by Mário Zagallo. Zagallo led the team to the qualification for the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where the Emiratis successfully qualified to their only World Cup to date and marked the rise of the United Arab Emirates' golden age. However, Zagallo resigned before the tournament and Parreira returned. The team finished fourth at the 1990 World Cup's final tournament with no points, scoring two goals and conceding eleven goals. The journey was put into a 2016 documentary titled Lights of Rome.^[3] After the tournament, Parreira was sacked.

At the 1992 and 1996 Asian Cups, United Arab Emirates finished fourth and second respectively for the first times. United Arab Emirates appeared in the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup after being awarded a spot because Asian winners Saudi Arabia was hosting the games, the country's only second FIFA tournament.

United Arab Emirates missed the qualification for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup in Lebanon and finished in last place at the 2002 Gulf Cup in Saudi Arabia. It was eliminated in the next three Asian Cup tournaments at the group stage. In 2004 and 2007 editions, UAE was all eliminated by the hand to debutants Jordan and Vietnam. In 2011, it finished the tournament goalless. At this time, coaches that managed the Emirates included Carlos Queiroz, Roy Hodgson and Dick Advocaat. In 2006, UAE appointed Bruno Metsu as the new manager. He led the Emirates to the 2007 Gulf Cup title.

After hiring foreign coaches, in 2012, United Arab Emirates appointed the Olympic team coach Mahdi Ali as the new manager of the senior team. Ali began creating a squad inviting players that he had worked with at youth level. He led the Emirates to their second Gulf Cup title in 2013. At the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, United Arab Emirates defeated Qatar 4–1 and Bahrain 2–1 and lost to Iran by a goal. As group runner-up, it faced the defending champions Japan in the quarter-final and earned a victory on penalties to advance to the last four. It lost 2–0 to the host Australia in the semi-finals. In the third place play-off, it beat Iraq 3–2. United Arab Emirates qualified through the AFC qualification where it finished fourth in Group B thus failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Ahmed Khalil was a top scorer in the qualification. Around this time Mahdi Ali resigned from his position.^[4] In October 2012, the Asian Football Confederation official website published an article about UAE's campaign to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in which the team was referred to as the "Sand Monkeys." This was the indirect result of editing of the Wikipedia article on the team and AFC was forced to apologise for what was perceived as a racist slur.^[5]^[6]

In 2015, it was announced that the Emirates will host the 2019 Asian Cup, this marks the second time they hosts an AFC Asian Cup. The team had Alberto Zaccheroni as a coach. In the 2019 Asian Cup tournament, UAE proceeded to the quarter-finals where it scored its first ever goal against Australia to gain its first ever win against this opponent.^[7] The semi-finals was between the host and Qatar.^[8] Some audiences booed Qatari anthem and threw footwear in the pitch after Qatar scored its second goal. UAE lost 0–4 marking its first defeat to Qatar since 2001,^[9] with tensions and violence occurred and some cheering "anti-Qatari" chants.^[10] The rivalry with Qatar is also witnessed in the Arabian Gulf Cup meeting in multiple occasions. Some other opponents of UAE are Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran.^[11]

United Arab Emirates joined the second round of 2022 World Cup qualifiers and was placed with all-out Southeast Asian opponents. The team had already appointed the Dutch guider Bert van Marwijk. Bert was sacked after his start undergoing two away losses to Thailand and Vietnam in the qualifiers along his group stage exist in the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup.^[12] After this, the Emirates decided to naturalize Argentine Sebastián Tagliabúe, Brazilian Caio Canedo Corrêa and Fábio Virginio de Lima, the three South American players, having never done so since the foundation of the national team.^[13]

Stadium[edit]

United Arab Emirates's home ground varies. Most games have been played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi with Abu Dhabi's Al Jazira Stadium and Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain as other venues. As of 2020, UAE has played in 11 home stadiums.

Home stadiums list
Image	Stadium	Capacity	Location	Last match
	Zayed Sports City Stadium	43,206	Abu Dhabi City, Abu Dhabi	v Kyrgyzstan (21 January 2019; 2019 AFC Asian Cup)
	Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium	42,056	Abu Dhabi City, Abu Dhabi	v Syria (26 March 2019; Friendly)
	Al Nahyan Stadium	12,201	Abu Dhabi City, Abu Dhabi	v Saudi Arabia (21 March 2019; Friendly)
	Hazza bin Zayed Stadium	25,053	Al Ain, Abu Dhabi	v Australia (25 January 2019; 2019 AFC Asian Cup)
	Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium	15,000	Al Ain, Abu Dhabi	v Kuwait (2 September 2011; 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification)
	Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium	12,000	Al Ain, Abu Dhabi	v Australia (5 January 2011; Friendly)
	Zabeel Stadium	8,439	Dubai City, Dubai	v India (29 March 2021; Friendly)
	Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium	12,000	Dubai City, Dubai	v Bolivia (16 November 2018; Friendly)
	Al Maktoum Stadium	15,058	Dubai City, Dubai	v Bahrain (16 November 2020; Friendly)
	Rashid Stadium	12,000	Dubai City, Dubai	v Uzbekistan (12 October 2020; Friendly)
	Sharjah Stadium	18,000	Sharjah City, Sharjah	v Uzbekistan (28 January 2009; 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification)

Kits[edit]

The UAE's colors are white and red, their traditional home colors would be all white with some red trim while their away colors would be all red with some white trim, in 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the away colors were black for the first time in addition, there were some green trim.

Kit providers[edit]

Manufacturer	Period
Umbro	1979–1985^[14]
Admiral	1986–1989
Adidas	1990–1994
Puma	1995–1996
Kelme	1997–1999
Adidas	2000–2001
Umbro	2002–2005
Adidas	2006–2008
Erreà	2009–2013
Adidas	2014–

Staff and players[edit]

Technical staff[edit]

Last Update: December 2020^[15]

Head coach	Bert van Marwijk
Assistant coach	Roel Coumans
Assistant coach	John Metgod
Assistant coach	Mark van Bommel
Assistant coach	Taco van den Velde
Fitness coach	Hassan Yaqoob
Goalkeeping coach	Mohamed Al-Faraj

Doctor	Ertugrul Karanlik
Physiotherapist	Khalil Muftah
Physiotherapist	Rashid Hameed

Playing squad[edit]

The following players were called up for the friendly match against India.
Match date: 29 March 2021.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Ali Khasif	(1987-06-09) 9 June 1987 (age 33)	53	0	Al Jazira
17	1GK	Khalid Eisa	(1989-09-15) 15 September 1989 (age 31)	46	0	Al Ain
30	1GK	Fahad Al-Dhanhani	(1991-09-03) 3 September 1991 (age 29)	2	0	Baniyas

2	2DF	Hassan Al-Moharrami	(1996-06-06) 6 June 1996 (age 24)	3	0	Baniyas
3	2DF	Walid Abbas (Captain)	(1985-06-11) 11 June 1985 (age 35)	87	0	Shabab Al Ahli
6	2DF	Mohammed Al Attas	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 (age 23)	10	1	Al Jazira
13	2DF	Shahin Abdulrahman	(1992-11-16) 16 November 1992 (age 28)	5	0	Sharjah
21	2DF	Mahmoud Khamees	(1987-10-28) 28 October 1987 (age 33)	36	0	Al Nasr

4	3MF	Majed Hassan	(1992-08-01) 1 August 1992 (age 28)	57	1	Shabab Al Ahli
5	3MF	Ali Salmeen	(1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 (age 26)	30	0	Al Wasl
9	3MF	Bandar Al-Ahbabi	(1990-07-09) 9 July 1990 (age 30)	27	2	Al Ain
12	3MF	Mohammed Jumaa	(1997-01-28) 28 January 1997 (age 24)	1	0	Shabab Al Ahli
14	3MF	Khalil Ibrahim	(1993-05-04) 4 May 1993 (age 28)	9	4	Al Wahda
18	3MF	Abdullah Ramadan	(1998-03-07) 7 March 1998 (age 23)	10	0	Al Jazira
19	3MF	Tahnoon Al-Zaabi	(1999-04-10) 10 April 1999 (age 22)	3	0	Al Wahda
23	3MF	Salem Obaid	(1993-12-21) 21 December 1993 (age 27)	12	0	Al Jazira

7	4FW	Ali Mabkhout	(1990-10-05) 5 October 1990 (age 30)	87	68	Al Jazira
10	4FW	Khalfan Mubarak	(1995-05-09) 9 May 1995 (age 26)	26	1	Al Jazira
15	4FW	Fabio Lima	(1993-06-30) 30 June 1993 (age 27)	5	1	Al Wasl
22	4FW	Yahya Al Ghassani	(1998-04-18) 18 April 1998 (age 23)	1	0	Shabab Al Ahli
25	4FW	Sebastián Tagliabúe	(1985-02-22) 22 February 1985 (age 36)	3	2	Al Nasr

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Adel Al-Hosani	(1989-08-23) 23 August 1989 (age 31)	14	0	Sharjah	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020

DF	Mohammed Marzooq	(1989-01-23) 23 January 1989 (age 32)	21	0	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Uzbekistan, 12 October 2020
DF	Fares Juma	(1988-12-30) 30 December 1988 (age 32)	64	2	Al Wahda	v. Uzbekistan, 12 October 2020
DF	Mohamed Fawzi	(1990-02-22) 22 February 1990 (age 31)	33	0	Al Nasr	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
DF	Abdulaziz Haikal	(1990-09-10) 10 September 1990 (age 30)	27	5	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
DF	Mohammed Barqesh	(1990-10-27) 27 October 1990 (age 30)	1	0	Al Wahda	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
DF	Yousif Jaber	(1985-02-25) 25 February 1985 (age 36)	41	2	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
DF	Majed Suroor	(1997-10-14) 14 October 1997 (age 23)	8	0	Sharjah	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
DF	Khalifa Al Hammadi	(1998-11-06) 6 November 1998 (age 22)	18	0	Al Jazira	v. Iraq, 12 January 2021

MF	Ahmed Barman	(1994-02-05) 5 February 1994 (age 27)	4	0	Al Ain	v. Uzbekistan, 12 October 2020
MF	Khamis Esmaeel	(1989-08-16) 16 August 1989 (age 31)	75	1	Al Wahda	v. Uzbekistan, 12 October 2020
MF	Abdullah Kazim	(1996-07-31) 31 July 1996 (age 24)	1	0	Hatta	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
MF	Habib Al Fardan	(1990-11-11) 11 November 1990 (age 30)	12	6	Al Nasr	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
MF	Mohammed Al Marashda	(2000-05-06) 6 May 2000 (age 21)	0	0	Kalba	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
MF	Khaled Ba Wazir	(1995-05-08) 8 May 1995 (age 26)	10	0	Sharjah	v. Bahrain, 16 November 2020
MF	Abdullah Al-Naqbi	(1993-04-28) 28 April 1993 (age 28)	2	0	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Iraq, 12 January 2021

FW	Caio Canedo	(1990-08-09) 9 August 1990 (age 30)	2	1	Al Ain	v. Iraq, 12 January 2021
FW	Zaid Al-Ameri	(1997-01-14) 14 January 1997 (age 24)	7	0	Al Jazira	v. Iraq, 12 January 2021
FW	Ali Saleh	(2000-01-22) 22 January 2000 (age 21)	10	1	Al Wasl	v. Iraq, 12 January 2021

Schedule[edit]

12 October 2020 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	1–2	Uzbekistan	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19:00 UTC+4	Tagliabúe 90+2' (pen.)	Report	Sergeev 48', 86'	Stadium: Rashid Attendance: 0 Referee: Ali Abdulnabi (Bahrain)

12 November 2020 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	3–2	Tajikistan	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18:00 UTC+4	Ali Mabkhout 29', 63' (pen.) Saleh 90+4'	Report	Ergashev 10' Tursunov 20'	Stadium: Zabeel Attendance: 0 Referee: Ammar Ashkanani (Kuwait)

16 November 2020 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	1–3	Bahrain	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18:00 UTC+4	Canedo Corrêa 33'	Report	Marhoon 75' (pen.) Al-Rumaihi 82, 86'	Stadium: Al Maktoum Attendance: 0 Referee: Ahmad Al Ali (Kuwait)

12 January 2021 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	0–0	Iraq	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19:30 UTC+4		Report		Stadium: Zabeel Attendance: 0 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

29 March 2021 (2021-03-29) Friendly	United Arab Emirates	6–0	India	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19:00 UTC+4	Mabkhout 12', 32' (pen.), 60' Ibrahim 64' Lima 71' Tagliabúe 84'	Report		Stadium: Zabeel Attendance: 0 Referee: Elges Tantachev (Uzbekistan)

24 May 2021 Friendly	Jordan	v	United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates
TBD		Report

3 June 2021 WCQ R2	United Arab Emirates	v	Malaysia	United Arab Emirates
				Stadium: TBD

7 June 2021 WCQ R2	United Arab Emirates	v	Thailand	United Arab Emirates
				Stadium: TBD

11 June 2021 WCQ R2	Indonesia	v	United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates
				Stadium: TBD Attendance: 0^{[note 1]}

15 June 2021 WCQ R2	United Arab Emirates	v	Vietnam	United Arab Emirates
				Stadium: TBD

Record[edit]

Competitive[edit]

FIFA World Cup
Final record									Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1974	Not eligible to enter								Not eligible to enter
1978 and 1982	Did not participate								Did not participate
1986	Did not qualify								4	2	1	1	5	4
1990	Group stage	24th	3	0	0	3	2	11	9	4	4	1	16	7
1994	Did not qualify								8	6	1	1	19	4
1998									12	5	4	3	16	13
2002									14	7	2	5	31	20
2006									6	3	1	2	6	6
2010									16	4	3	9	19	24
2014									8	2	1	5	14	16
2018									18	9	3	6	37	17
2022	To be determined								4	2	0	2	8	4
2026	To be determined								To be determined
Total	Group stage	24th	3	0	0	3	2	11	100	44	20	37	171	115

AFC Asian Cup
Final record									Qualification
Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1956 to 1976	Did not enter								Did not enter
1980	Group stage	9th	4	0	1	3	3	9	3	1	2	0	2	0
1984	Group stage	6th	4	2	0	2	3	8	4	3	0	1	24	2
1988	Group stage	8th	4	1	0	3	2	4	5	4	1	0	12	1
1992	Fourth place	4th	5	1	3	1	3	4	2	2	0	0	6	3
1996	Runners-up	2nd	6	4	2	0	8	3	Hosts
2000	Did not qualify								4	3	0	1	12	2
2004	Group stage	15th	3	0	1	2	1	5	6	4	1	1	13	5
2007	Group stage	12th	3	1	0	2	3	6	6	4	1	1	11	6
2011	Group stage	13th	3	0	1	2	0	4	4	3	0	1	7	1
2015	Third place	3rd	6	3	1	2	10	8	6	5	1	0	18	3
2019	Semifinals	4th	6	3	2	1	8	8	8^*	5	2	1	27	4
2023			0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2	0	2	8	4
Total	Runners-up	2nd	44	15	11	18	40	56	52	36	8	8	140	31

FIFA Confederations Cup
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1992 and 1995	Did not qualify
1997	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	2	8
1999 to 2017	Did not qualify
Total	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	2	8

Asian Games
Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1974 to 1982	Did not enter
1986	Quarter-finals	5	3	2	0	7	4
1990	Did not enter
1994	Quarter-finals	4	1	2	1	6	5
1998	Group stage	4	1	1	2	5	10
Total	Quarter-finals	13	5	5	3	18	19

Gulf Cup
Year	Place	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1970	Did not enter
1972	Third place	3	1	0	2	1	11
1974	Fourth place	4	1	1	2	5	9
1976	Fifth Place	6	0	2	4	4	13
1979	Sixth place	6	1	0	5	5	18
1982	Third place	5	3	0	2	7	6
1984	Fourth place	6	2	3	1	5	4
1986	Runners-up	6	3	2	1	10	7
1988	Runners-up	6	3	2	1	7	4
1990	Fifth place	4	0	2	2	2	8
1992	Fourth place	5	3	0	2	4	3
1994	Runners-up	5	3	2	0	7	1
1996	Fourth place	5	1	3	1	5	5
1998	Third place	5	2	1	2	5	7
2002	Sixth place	5	1	0	4	3	7
2003	Fifth place	6	2	1	3	6	7
2004	Group Stage	3	0	2	1	4	5
2007	Champions	5	4	0	1	8	1
2009	Group Stage	3	1	1	1	3	4
2010	Semi-finals	4	1	2	1	3	2
2013	Champions	5	5	0	0	10	3
2014	Third place	5	2	2	1	7	5
2017	Runners-up	5	1	4	0	1	0
2019	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	5	6
Total	Champions	111	41	28	39	117	135

Pan Arab Games
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1976	Did not enter
1985	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	2	3
1997	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	3	5
1999	Second Round	5	1	2	2	5	5
2007	Fourth Place	4	1	1	2	3	6
2011	Did not enter
Total	Fourth Place	15	4	3	8	13	19

Other
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1973 Palestine Cup of Nations	Group Stage	8th	4	0	2	2	3	7
1975 Palestine Cup of Nations	Group Stage	10th	2	0	0	2	0	8
1981 Merdeka Tournament	Fourth Place	4th	5	2	0	3	6	10
1982 Merdeka Tournament	Group Stage	5th	4	1	0	3	5	8
1994 Friendship Tournament	Third Place	3rd	3	0	1	2	1	3
1996 Friendship Tournament	Champions	1st	3	2	1	0	4	2
1998 Friendship Tournament	Champions	1st	3	3	0	0	4	1
1999 Friendship Tournament	Runner-ups	2nd	3	1	2	0	7	5
2000 Oman Cup	Champions	1st	3	2	1	0	2	1
2000 LG Cup	Champions	1st	2	1	1	0	2	1
2005 Kirin Cup	Champions	1st	2	1	1	0	1	0
2005 International Arab Friendly Tournament	Runner-ups	2nd	2	0	2	0	1	1
2007 Four Nations Tournament	Fourth Place	4th	2	0	0	2	0	6
2008 Dubai Challenge Cup	Fourth Place	4th	2	0	1	1	0	1
2009 UAE International Cup	Runner-ups	2nd	2	0	1	1	0	1
2013 OSN Cup	Champions	1st	2	1	1	0	5	3
2016 King's Cup	Fourth Place	4th	2	0	0	2	1	4
2018 King's Cup	Fourth Place	4th	2	0	0	2	1	3
Total	Champions	6 Titles	48	14	14	20	43	67

Head-to-head[edit]

As of 29 March 2021^[17]

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Algeria	7	2	2	3	5	5	0
Andorra	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Angola	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Armenia	1	0	0	1	3	4	−1
Australia	6	1	2	3	1	5	−4
Azerbaijan	1	0	1	0	3	3	0
Bahrain	32	13	6	13	55	48	+7
Bangladesh	5	5	0	0	21	1	+20
Belarus	2	1	0	1	3	3	0
Benin	2	0	1	1	0	1	−1
Bolivia	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	8	−8
Brunei	2	2	0	0	16	0	+16
Bulgaria	6	1	0	5	4	14	−10
Chile	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
China PR	11	2	5	4	7	17	−10
Colombia	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Czech Republic	2	0	1	1	1	6	−5
Denmark	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Dominican Republic	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4
Egypt	9	1	4	4	6	10	−4
Estonia	2	1	1	0	4	3	+1
Finland	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Gabon	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Georgia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
Germany	3	0	0	3	3	14	−11
Haiti	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Honduras	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1
Hong Kong	3	2	1	0	9	1	+8
Hungary	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5
Iceland	3	1	0	2	2	3	−1
India	14	10	2	2	32	7	+25
Indonesia	5	3	1	1	13	8	+5
Iran	16	1	3	12	4	24	−20
Iraq	34	8	14	12	32	49	−17
Japan	20	5	9	6	18	22	−4
Jordan	17	10	4	3	25	14	+11
Kazakhstan	3	2	0	1	9	5	+4
Kenya	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Kuwait	41	16	8	17	49	74	−25
Kyrgyzstan	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1
Laos	3	3	0	0	9	0	+9
Lebanon	11	7	3	1	23	13	+10
Libya	4	1	2	1	8	5	+3
Lithuania	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Malaysia	11	9	0	2	28	7	+21
Mali	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Malta	2	0	2	0	1	1	0
Mexico	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Moldova	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1
Morocco	4	1	3	0	4	3	+1
Myanmar	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3
Nepal	1	1	0	0	11	0	+11
New Zealand	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3
Niger	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4
North Korea	11	3	4	4	8	11	−3
Norway	3	0	2	1	2	5	−3
Oman	33	15	12	6	45	24	+21
Pakistan	5	5	0	0	17	4	+13
Palestine	5	2	2	1	6	2	+4
Paraguay	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Peru	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
Philippines	1	1	0	0	4	0	+4
Poland	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8
Qatar	31	10	8	13	35	40	−5
Romania	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1
Russia	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1
Saudi Arabia	36	8	8	20	27	51	−24
Serbia	1	0	0	1	1	4	−3
Senegal	4	1	2	1	7	8	−1
Singapore	6	5	1	0	16	5	+11
Slovakia	3	0	0	3	2	5	−3
Slovenia	2	0	2	0	3	3	0
South Africa	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
South Korea	21	2	6	13	16	41	−25
Sri Lanka	8	8	0	0	35	3	+32
Sudan	2	2	0	0	6	2	+4
Sweden	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1
Switzerland	4	2	0	2	3	4	−1
Syria	21	11	7	3	32	16	+16
Tajikistan	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1
Thailand	11	6	3	2	16	11	+5
Timor-Leste	2	2	0	0	9	0	+9
Togo	2	1	0	1	3	5	−2
Trinidad and Tobago	2	0	1	1	3	5	−2
Tunisia	4	0	0	4	2	9	−7
Turkmenistan	4	2	1	1	9	4	+5
Ukraine	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Uruguay	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Uzbekistan	17	9	4	4	25	19	+6
Venezuela	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2
Vietnam	6	4	0	2	13	4	+9
Yemen	13	10	0	3	29	13	+16
Total	583	228	151	201	807	724	+83

Players[edit]

As of 12 January 2021^[18]

Active players for the national team are shown in bold.

Most Caps
Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Adnan Al Talyani	161	52	1983–1997
2	Ismail Matar	133	36	2003–2019
3	Subait Khater	120	12	1999–2011
4	Abdulrahim Jumaa	116	13	1998–2009
5	Ismail Al Hammadi	115	13	2007–
6	Zuhair Bakheet	112	27	1988–2002
6	Abdulsalam Jumaa	112	7	1997–2010
8	Muhsin Musabah	107	0	1988–1999
9	Ahmed Khalil	103	48	2008–
10	Mohammed Omar	102	28	1996–2009

Top Goalscorers
Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Ali Mabkhout	68	87	0.78	2009–
2	Adnan Al Talyani	52	161	0.32	1983–1997
3	Ahmed Khalil	48	105	0.46	2008–
4	Ismail Matar	36	133	0.27	2003–2019
5	Mohammad Omar	28	102	0.27	1996–2009
6	Zuhair Bakheet	27	112	0.24	1988–2002
7	Saeed Al Kass	15	60	0.25	1998–2013
8	Abdulrahim Jumaa	13	116	0.11	1998–2009
	Ismail Al Hammadi		115	0.11	2007–
	Faisal Khalil		61	0.21	2001–2010

References[edit]

^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
^ "UAE's 1990 World Cup journey now a documentary". Gulf News. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
^ "Mahdi Ali resigns as UAE's World Cup ends with a defeat". The National. 28 March 2018.
^ Yahoo! Sports: Asian Football Confederation apologize for calling UAE national team ‘Sand Monkeys’
^ Bailey, Ryan (15 October 2012). "Asian Football Confederation apologize for calling UAE national team 'Sand Monkeys'". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
^ https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jan/25/asian-cup-report-australia-uae-south-korea-qatar-son-heung-min-spurs
^ https://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/football/AFC-Asian-Cup:-UAE-Qatar-match-tickets-sell-like-hot-cakes
^ https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/2184193/asian-cup-uae-fans-pelt-qatar-players-shoes-hosts-are-thrashed-4-0
^ "UAE fans throw shoes and bottles at "Qatari" players". 27 January 2019.
^ Dorsey, James M. (29 July 2013). "Gulf rivalry between Iran, UAE transferred to the football pitch". Hurriyet Daily. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
^ "UAE fires coach Van Marwijk after Qatar defeat". euronews. 5 December 2019.
^ "Why foreign footballers are getting uae passports". gulfnews. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
^ "old united arab emirates football shirts". oldfootballshirts. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
^ "UAE National Team staff". uaefa.com.
^ "Indonesia ordered to play 2022 World Cup Qualifiers behind closed doors by FIFA following fan violence". FOX Sports Malaysia. 8 January 2020.
^ "World Football Elo Ratings: United Arab Emirates". Eloratings.net. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
^ Roberto Mamrud; Karel Stokkermans. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Notes[edit]

^ The Indonesia v United Arab Emirates match will be played without spectators following sanctions by FIFA due to fan disturbances in the Indonesia v Malaysia and Indonesia v Thailand matches.^[16]

External links[edit]

UAE Football Association official website (in Arabic)

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.

[World_Football_Elo_Ratings-2] Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.

[Doc90-3] "UAE's 1990 World Cup journey now a documentary". Gulf News. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2019.

[4] "Mahdi Ali resigns as UAE's World Cup ends with a defeat". The National. 28 March 2018.

[5] Yahoo! Sports: Asian Football Confederation apologize for calling UAE national team ‘Sand Monkeys’

[6] Bailey, Ryan (15 October 2012). "Asian Football Confederation apologize for calling UAE national team 'Sand Monkeys'". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 21 June 2020.

[7] ttps://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jan/25/asian-cup-report-australia-uae-south-korea-qatar-son-heung-min-spurs

[8] ttps://www.khaleejtimes.com/sport/football/AFC-Asian-Cup:-UAE-Qatar-match-tickets-sell-like-hot-cakes

[9] ttps://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/2184193/asian-cup-uae-fans-pelt-qatar-players-shoes-hosts-are-thrashed-4-0

[10] "UAE fans throw shoes and bottles at "Qatari" players". 27 January 2019.

[11] Dorsey, James M. (29 July 2013). "Gulf rivalry between Iran, UAE transferred to the football pitch". Hurriyet Daily. Retrieved 10 September 2019.

[12] "UAE fires coach Van Marwijk after Qatar defeat". euronews. 5 December 2019.

[13] "Why foreign footballers are getting uae passports". gulfnews. Retrieved 27 January 2020.

[14] "old united arab emirates football shirts". oldfootballshirts. Retrieved 27 December 2020.

[15] "UAE National Team staff". uaefa.com.

[16] "Indonesia ordered to play 2022 World Cup Qualifiers behind closed doors by FIFA following fan violence". FOX Sports Malaysia. 8 January 2020.

[18] "World Football Elo Ratings: United Arab Emirates". Eloratings.net. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.

[19] Roberto Mamrud; Karel Stokkermans. "Players with 100+ Caps and 30+ International Goals". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[IDNUAE-17] The Indonesia v United Arab Emirates match will be played without spectators following sanctions by FIFA due to fan disturbances in the Indonesia v Malaysia and Indonesia v Thailand matches.^[16]

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[5]

[6]

[7]

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[15]

[note 1]

[17]

[18]

[16]

v t e Football in the United Arab Emirates
UAEFA PLC
National teams	Men's national team U-23 U-20 U-17 Women's national team Men's Futsal Beach Soccer	United Arab Emirates portal
League system	Pro League First Division League Second Division League
Domestic cups	President's Cup League Cup Super Cup Federation Cup (defunct) Vice Presidents Cup (defunct) FA Cup (defunct)
International Competitions	AFC Champions League Arabian Gulf Cup Arab Club Champions Cup GCC Champions League Friendship Tournament (defunct)
Clubs Records

v t e United Arab Emirates national football team
General	United Arab Emirates Football Association History Managers
Statistics	Results and fixtures International tournaments Head to head
Team	Players International players
Venues	Zayed Sports City Mohammed bin Zayed Hazza bin Zayed Al Maktoum
Tournaments	World Cup Asian Cup Asian Games WAFF Championship Friendship Tournament
World Finals	1990
Asian Finals	1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2004 2007 2011 2015 2019
Notable Matches	1996 Asian Cup Final Disaster of Hanoi (2007) Blockade Derby (2019)
Scorers	Ali Mabkhout
Rivalries	Iran Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia
Other teams	U23 U20 U17 Women's Futsal Beach soccer

v t e National men's football teams of Asia (AFC)
AFC Asian Cup
West Asia (WAFF)	Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen
Central Asia (CAFA)	Afghanistan Iran Kyrgyz Republic Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
South Asia (SAFF)	Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
East Asia (EAFF)	China PR Chinese Taipei Guam Hong Kong Japan Korea DPR Korea Republic Macau Mongolia Northern Mariana Islands†
Southeast Asia (AFF)	Australia Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor-Leste Vietnam
Defunct	Malaya North Vietnam South Vietnam South Yemen
Former	Israel (moved to UEFA in 1994) Kazakhstan (moved to UEFA in 2002) New Zealand (formed the OFC in 1966)
¹ Not a member of FIFA

v t e 1990 FIFA World Cup finalists
Champions	West Germany
Runners-up	Argentina
Third place	Italy
Fourth place	England
Quarter-finals	Cameroon Czechoslovakia Republic of Ireland Yugoslavia
Round of 16	Belgium Brazil Colombia Costa Rica Netherlands Romania Spain Uruguay
Group stage	Austria Egypt Scotland South Korea Soviet Union Sweden United Arab Emirates United States