United Arab Emirates national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see United Arab Emirates women's national football team.

United Arab Emirates

Nickname(s)	Al Abyad (The White One) Eyal Zayed (Sons of Zayed)
Association	UAE Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF (West Asia)
Head coach	Rodolfo Arruabarrena
Captain	Walid Abbas
Most caps	Adnan Al Talyani (161)
Top scorer	Ali Mabkhout (80)
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	UAE
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	69 (25 August 2022)
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 (Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; 14 April 2001)
Biggest defeat
United Arab Emirates 0–8 Brazil (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; 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)
Arab Cup
Appearances	2 (first in 1998)
Best result	Fourth place (1998)
Arabian Gulf Cup
Appearances	24 (first in 1970)
Best result	Champions (2007, 2013)
FIFA Confederations Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 1997)
Best result	Group stage (1997)
Medal record Men's football AFC Asian Cup 1996 UAE Team 2015 Australia Team Asian Games 2010 Guangzhou Team 2018 Jakarta Team Arabian Gulf Cup 2007 UAE Team 2013 Bahrain Team 1986 Bahrain Team 1988 Saudi Arabia Team 1994 UAE Team 2017 Kuwait Team

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

The first match of the team was played on 17 March 1972 against Qatar at 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 the 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. 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 11 goals. The journey was put into a 2016 documentary titled Lights of Rome. 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 Saudi Arabia was hosting the games.

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 manager of the senior team. Ali began creating a squad inviting players that he had worked with at the 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. In the semi-finals, it lost 2–0 to the host Australia. 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.

The Emirates hosted the 2019 Asian Cup, this marked the second time they hosted an AFC Asian Cup. The team had Alberto Zaccheroni as a coach. In the 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. The semi-finals was between the host and Qatar. Some audiences threw footwear in the pitch after Qatar scored its second goal. UAE lost 0–4 marking its first defeat to Qatar since 2001.

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 exit in the 24th Arabian Gulf Cup. 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. The team then experienced a period of coaching instabilities, with three different coaches, before van Marwijk resumed his duty due to crisis in option. With the COVID-19 pandemic however, the AFC decided the remaining games of the second round would be played in one country, and the United Arab Emirates were able to utilise the advantage as the host nation, ultimately u-turned the earlier misery into four consecutive wins to break through into the third round, where they faced its neighbours and the powerhouses Iran and South Korea. In the third round, the UAE failed to produce a promising performance after winning just one out of six first games, a 1–0 away win over Lebanon, drew three and lost two, adding with the UAE's below average performance in the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup despite reaching the quarter-finals, that was enough to sack the Dutch manager van Marwijk yet again. After inconsistency in performance, the UAE appointed Argentine manager Rodolfo Arruabarrena as coach, and the team's result improved, winning two out of four games, notably an impressive 1–0 home win over already-qualified South Korea, to reach the fourth round, increased hope for the country to qualify for the first-ever World Cup since 1990, where they would face the old foe Australia, whom the UAE defeated in the latest meeting. However, the UAE was unable to utilise their geographical advantage in the playoff in neighbouring Qatar, losing 1–2 to Australia by a thunderous strike at 84' by Ajdin Hrustic to deny the UAE's its potential second appearance; they later stunned South America's rising power Peru to qualify for the edition.

Rivalries

UAE's common rivals are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Iran.

Qatar

Main article: Qatar–United Arab Emirates football rivalry

The rivalry with Qatar is a competitive one in the Arabian Gulf Cup meeting in multiple occasions, due to Qatar diplomatic crisis, increasing tensions had been witnessed, with the captain of UAE under-19 youth team refused to shake hands with Qatar's youth captain in 2018 AFC U-19 Championship held in Indonesia; in this tournament, the UAE beat Qatar 2–1 but still crashed out from the group stage while Qatar would recover to qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. As of 2020, Qatar and UAE have played 31 official matches, most of which was held competitively in the Arabian Gulf Cup, it started off with the United Arab Emirates beating Qatar 1–0. They only played 2 friendly games and the last friendly was held in 2011 which ended with an Emirati victory. In the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, hosted by the UAE, Qatar overran the UAE for the first time since 2001 with the result 4–0, with heavy tensions and violence occurred between two and Emirati supporters cheering anti-Qatari chants.

Saudi Arabia

Another major rival the UAE takes on Arabian Gulf Cup many times, the two teams have met in the AFC Asian Cup twice, first in the semi finals of the 1992 edition which ended in a Saudi victory and second in the final of the 1996 edition in which UAE hosted, the game ended in a goalless draw which meant the game had to be decided in penalties, the game ended with Saudi Arabia taking home their 3rd title with the penalty scoreline being 4–2, this remains the only time the Emirates qualified for the final meanwhile this would also be the last time the Saudis would win an Asian Cup as they would lose the next two finals they qualified for in 2000 and 2007. When the countries meet in qualifier matches, the matchup has been nicknamed "clash of titans" as both countries have been some of the more successful teams in the Arabian Peninsula.

Nicknames

The United Arab Emirates is known by supporters and the media as Al-Abyad, meaning The Whites which reference to their white jersey and also Eyal Zayed which means Zayed's sons.

In October 2012, the Asian Football Confederation official website published an article about the UAE national team's campaign to qualify for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, in which the team was referred to using the racial slur "sand monkey". This was the indirect result of vandalism of the Wikipedia article on the team, and the AFC was forced to apologise.

Stadium

As of 2022, UAE has played in 11 home stadiums. Most games have taken place 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.

Home stadiums list
Image	Stadium	Capacity	Location	Last match
	Zayed Sports City Stadium	43,206	Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi	v  Kyrgyzstan (21 January 2019; 2019 AFC Asian Cup)
	Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium	42,056	Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi	v  Syria (26 March 2019; Friendly)
	Al Nahyan Stadium	12,201	Abu Dhabi, 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, Dubai	v  Gambia (29 May 2022; Friendly)
	Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium	12,000	Dubai, Dubai	v  Bolivia (16 November 2018; Friendly)
	Al Maktoum Stadium	15,058	Dubai, Dubai	v  South Korea (29 March 2022; 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification)
	Rashid Stadium	12,000	Dubai, Dubai	v  Jordan (24 May 2021; Friendly)
	Sharjah Stadium	18,000	Sharjah, Sharjah	v  Uzbekistan (28 January 2009; 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification)

Kit

The UAE's 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, the away colors were black for the first time in addition, there were some green trim.

Manufacturer Period Umbro 1979–1985 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–

Results and fixtures

Main article: United Arab Emirates national football team results

2021

United Arab Emirates v Iran

7 October 2021 World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	0–1	Iran	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
20:45 UTC+4		Report	Taremi 70'	Stadium: Zabeel Stadium Attendance: 3,034 Referee: Chris Beath (Australia)

United Arab Emirates v Iraq

12 October 2021 World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	2–2	Iraq	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
20:45 UTC+4	Caio 33' Mabkhout 90+4'	Report	Al-Attas 74' (o.g.) Hussein 89'	Stadium: Zabeel Stadium Attendance: 2,820 Referee: Ryuji Sato (Japan)

South Korea v United Arab Emirates

11 November 2021 World Cup qualification	South Korea	1–0	United Arab Emirates	Goyang, South Korea
20:00 UTC+9	Hee-chan 35' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Goyang Stadium Attendance: 30,152 Referee: Ma Ning (China PR)

Lebanon v United Arab Emirates

16 November 2021 World Cup qualification	Lebanon	0–1	United Arab Emirates	Sidon, Lebanon
14:00 UTC+2		Report	Mabkhout 85' (pen.)	Stadium: Saida Municipal Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Shaun Evans (Australia)

United Arab Emirates v Syria

30 November 2021 Arab Cup	United Arab Emirates	2–1	Syria	Doha, Qatar
18:00 UTC+3	Caio 24' Saleh 30'	Report	Al Salama 60'	Stadium: Ras Abu Aboud Stadium Attendance: 4,129 Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)

Mauritania v United Arab Emirates

3 December 2021 Arab Cup	Mauritania	0–1	United Arab Emirates	Doha, Qatar
19:00 UTC+3		Report	Ibrahim 90+3'	Stadium: Ras Abu Aboud Stadium Attendance: 3,316 Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)

Tunisia v United Arab Emirates

6 December 2021 Arab Cup	Tunisia	1–0	United Arab Emirates	Doha, Qatar
18:00 UTC+3	Jaziri 10'	Report		Stadium: Al Thumama Stadium Attendance: 14,727 Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)

Qatar v United Arab Emirates

10 December 2021 Arab Cup	Qatar	5–0	United Arab Emirates	Al Khor, Qatar
22:00 UTC+3	Salmeen 6' (o.g.) Ali 28' (pen.), 45+3' Khoukhi 36' (pen.) Hatem 44'	Report		Stadium: Al Bayt Stadium Attendance: 63,439 Referee: Andrés Matonte (Uruguay)

2022

United Arab Emirates v Syria

27 January 2022 World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	2–0	Syria	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19:00 UTC+4	Caio 10' Al Ghassani 70'	Report		Stadium: Al Maktoum Stadium Attendance: 2,450 Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Iran v United Arab Emirates

1 February 2022 World Cup qualification	Iran	1–0	United Arab Emirates	Tehran, Iran
18:00 UTC+3:30	Taremi 44'	Report		Stadium: Azadi Stadium Attendance: 999 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

Iraq v United Arab Emirates

24 March 2022 World Cup qualification	Iraq	1–0	United Arab Emirates	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
20:00 UTC+3	Al-Saedi 53'	Report		Stadium: King Fahd Stadium Attendance: 1,320 Referee: Ma Ning (China)

United Arab Emirates v South Korea

29 March 2022 World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	1–0	South Korea	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
17:45 UTC+4	Al-Maazmi 54'	Report		Stadium: Al Maktoum Stadium Attendance: 4,223 Referee: Ahmed Al-Kaf (Oman)

United Arab Emirates v Gambia

29 May 2022 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	1–1	Gambia	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19:40 UTC+4	Mabkhout 39' (pen.)	Report	Mu. Barrow 48'	Stadium: Zabeel Stadium Referee: Omar Al-Yaqoubi (Oman)

United Arab Emirates v Australia

7 June 2022 World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	1–2	Australia	Al Rayyan, Qatar
21:00 UTC+3	Caio 57'	Report (FIFA)	Irvine 53' Hrustic 84'	Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Paraguay v United Arab Emirates

23 September 2022 Friendly	Paraguay	1–0	United Arab Emirates	Wiener Neustadt, Austria
20:00 UTC+3	Balbuena 85'	Report		Stadium: Stadion Wiener Neustadt Referee: Harald Lechner (Austria)

United Arab Emirates v Venezuela

27 September 2022 (2022-09-27) Friendly	United Arab Emirates	0–4	Venezuela	Wiener Neustadt, Austria
18:00 UTC+3			Savarino 18' Rondón 25' Chancellor 34' Martínez 77'	Stadium: Stadion Wiener Neustadt Referee: Manuel Schüttengruber (Austria)

United Arab Emirates v Argentina

16 November 2022 (2022-11-16) Friendly	United Arab Emirates	v	Argentina	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
				Stadium: Zayed Sports City Stadium

United Arab Emirates v Kazakhstan

19 November 2022 (2022-11-19) Friendly	United Arab Emirates	v	Kazakhstan	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
				Stadium: TBD

Current staff

Main article: List of United Arab Emirates national football team managers

Last Update: February 2022

Head coach	Rodolfo Arruabarrena
Assistant coach	Saleem Abdulrahman
	Diego Markic
	Juan Agustín Gobet
	Amr Mokhtar
Goalkeeping coach	Welerson Dias
Fitness coach	Gustavo Roberi
Interpreter	Anass Elmakhtoum
Doctor	Zoran Stankovic
Physiotherapist	Leandro Suzuki
	Bruno Gilberto Melo
Match Analyst	Karim Tayara

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendlies against Paraguay on September 23, and Venezuela on September 27.

Caps and goals as of 27 September 2022, after the match against Veneuela.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Ali Khasif	(1987-06-09) 9 June 1987	69	0	Al Jazira
17	1GK	Khalid Eisa	(1989-09-15) 15 September 1989	59	0	Al Ain
22	1GK	Mohamed Al-Shamsi	(1997-01-04) 4 January 1997	7	0	Al Wahda
4	2DF	Khalid Al-Hashemi	(1997-03-18) 18 March 1997	2	0	Baniyas
9	2DF	Bandar Al-Ahbabi	(1990-07-09) 9 July 1990	45	2	Al Ain
12	2DF	Khalifa Al Hammadi	(1998-11-06) 6 November 1998	21	0	Al Jazira
13	2DF	Mohammed Al-Attas	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997	25	0	Al Jazira
15	2DF	Ahmed Abdullah	(1999-01-16) 16 January 1999	2	0	Shabab Al Ahli
19	2DF	Khaled Ibrahim	(1997-01-17) 17 January 1997	3	0	Sharjah
23	2DF	Abdulaziz Haikal	(1990-09-10) 10 September 1990	46	1	Shabab Al Ahli
24	2DF	Saeed Juma	(1998-07-08) 8 July 1998	1	0	Al Ain
25	2DF	Salem Sultan	(1993-05-09) 9 May 1993	3	0	Sharjah
3	3MF	Khaled Al-Balochi	(1999-03-22) 22 March 1999	1	0	Al Ain
5	3MF	Ali Salmeen	(1995-04-02) 2 April 1995	51	2	Al Wasl
6	3MF	Majid Rashid	(2000-05-16) 16 May 2000	2	0	Sharjah
8	3MF	Jassim Yaqoob	(1997-03-16) 16 March 1997	6	0	Al Nasr
10	3MF	Tahnoon Al-Zaabi	(1999-04-10) 10 April 1999	15	0	Al Wahda
14	3MF	Abdulla Hamad	(2001-09-18) 18 September 2001	5	0	Al Wahda
18	3MF	Abdullah Ramadan	(1998-03-07) 7 March 1998	30	0	Al Jazira
20	3MF	Falah Waleed	(1998-09-13) 13 September 1998	1	0	Khor Fakkan
11	4FW	Caio Canedo	(1990-08-09) 9 August 1990	24	7	Al Ain
21	4FW	Harib Al-Maazmi	(2002-11-26) 26 November 2002	11	1	Shabab Al Ahli

Recent call-ups

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	Majed Naser	(1984-04-01) 1 April 1984	72	0	Shabab Al-Ahli	v. Australia, 7 June 2022
GK	Fahad Al-Dhanhani	(1991-09-03) 3 September 1991	2	0	Baniyas	v. Gambia, 29 May 2022
GK	Adel Al-Hosani	(1989-08-23) 23 August 1989	1	0	Sharjah	v. South Korea, 29 March 2022
DF	Walid Abbas	(1985-06-11) 11 June 1985	108	6	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Australia, 7 June 2022
DF	Mohammed Marzooq	(1989-01-23) 23 January 1989	10	0	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Gambia, 29 May 2022
DF	Al Hassan Saleh	(1991-06-25) 25 June 1991	11	0	Sharjah	v. Gambia, 29 May 2022
DF	Mahmoud Khamees	(1987-10-28) 28 October 1987	47	2	Al Wahda	v. South Korea, 29 March 2022
DF	Shahin Abdulrahman	(1992-11-16) 16 November 1992	13	0	Sharjah	v. Iran, 1 February 2022
DF	Abdulla Idrees	(1999-08-16) 16 August 1999	1	0	Al Jazira	v. Iran, 1 February 2022
DF	Abdusalam Mohammed	(1992-06-19) 19 June 1992	0	0	Kalba	v. Syria, 27 January 2022
DF	Mohanad Salem	(1985-03-01) 1 March 1985	60	2	Kalba	v. Qatar, 10 December 2021 RET
DF	Mohammed Barqesh	(1990-10-27) 27 October 1990	22	0	Al Wahda	v. Qatar, 10 December 2021
DF	Ahmed Rashed	(1997-01-19) 19 January 1997	0	0	Al Wahda	v. Lebanon, 16 November 2021
DF	Yousif Jaber	(1985-02-25) 25 February 1985	47	2	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Lebanon, 16 November 2021
MF	Yahia Nader	(1998-09-11) 11 September 1998	1	0	Al Ain	v. Australia, 7 June 2022
MF	Omar Abdulrahman	(1991-09-20) 20 September 1991	75	11	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Australia, 7 June 2022
MF	Majed Hassan	(1992-08-01) 1 August 1992	64	1	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Australia, 7 June 2022
MF	Khalil Ibrahim	(1993-05-04) 4 May 1993	22	6	Al Wahda	v. Gambia, 29 May 2022
MF	Abdullah Al-Naqbi	(1993-04-28) 28 April 1993	3	0	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Gambia, 29 May 2022
MF	Suhail Al-Noubi	(1996-01-09) 9 January 1996	2	0	Baniyas	v. Syria, 27 January 2022
MF	Mohammed Jumaa	(1997-01-28) 28 January 1997	8	1	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Qatar, 10 December 2021
FW	Ali Mabkhout	(1990-10-05) 5 October 1990	108	80	Al Jazira	v. Paraguay, 23 September 2022
FW	Yahya Al Ghassani	(1998-04-18) 18 April 1998	4	1	Shabab Al Ahli	v. Australia, 7 June 2022
FW	Ali Saleh	(2000-01-22) 22 January 2000	13	3	Al Wasl	v. Australia, 7 June 2022
FW	Sebastián Tagliabúe	(1985-02-22) 22 February 1985	15	3	Al Nasr	v. Australia, 7 June 2022 RET
FW	Sultan Adil	(2004-05-04) 4 May 2004	1	0	Kalba	v. Gambia, 29 May 2022
FW	Zayed Al-Ameri	(1997-01-14) 14 January 1997	4	0	Al Jazira	v. Iran, 1 February 2022
FW	Ahmed Al-Attas	(1995-09-28) 28 September 1995	11	0	Al Jazira	v. Syria, 27 January 2022
FW	Ismail Matar	(1983-04-07) 7 April 1983	136	36	Al Wahda	v. Qatar, 10 December 2021
FW	Fábio Lima	(1993-06-30) 30 June 1993	13	6	Al Wasl	v. Iraq, 12 October 2021 INJ
FW	Khalfan Mubarak	(1995-05-09) 9 May 1995	31	1	Al Jazira	v. Iraq, 12 October 2021 INJ
SUS Suspended INJ Withdrew from the squad due to an injury PRE Preliminary squad RET Retired from international association football

List of UAE squads

FIFA World Cup

• 1990 World Cup squad

FIFA Confederations Cup

• 1997 Confederations Cup squad

AFC Asian Cup

• 1980 Asian Cup squad
• 1984 Asian Cup squad
• 1988 Asian Cup squad
• 1992 Asian Cup squad
• 1996 Asian Cup squad
• 2004 Asian Cup squad
• 2007 Asian Cup squad
• 2011 Asian Cup squad
• 2015 Asian Cup squad
• 2019 Asian Cup squad

Player records

As of 7 June 2022

Players in bold are still active with United Arab Emirates.

Most appearances

Adnan Al Talyani is United Arab Emirates' most capped player with 161 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Adnan Al Talyani	161	52	1983–1997
2	Ismail Matar	136	36	2003–present
3	Subait Khater	120	12	1999–2011
4	Abdulrahim Jumaa	116	13	1998–2009
5	Ismail Al Hammadi	115	13	2007–present
6	Zuhair Bakheet	112	27	1988–2002
	Abdulsalam Jumaa	112	7	1997–2010
8	Walid Abbas	108	6	2008–present
9	Muhsin Musabah	107	0	1988–1999
10	Ahmed Khalil	105	48	2008–present

Top goalscorers

Ali Mabkhout is United Arab Emirates' top scorer with 80 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Ali Mabkhout (list)	80	105	0.76	2009–present
2	Adnan Al Talyani	52	161	0.32	1983–1997
3	Ahmed Khalil	48	105	0.46	2008–present
4	Ismail Matar	36	136	0.26	2003–present
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	Faisal Khalil	13	61	0.21	2001–2010
	Ismail Al Hammadi	13	115	0.11	2007–present
	Abdulrahim Jumaa	13	116	0.11	1998–2009

Competitive record

  Champion    Runners-up    Third place  

Overview
Event	1st Place	2nd Place	3rd Place
AFC Asian Cup	0	1	1
Arabian Gulf Cup	2	4	4
Asian Games	0	1	1
Total	2	6	6

FIFA World Cup

Main article: United Arab Emirates at the FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1974	Part of the United Kingdom									Part of the United Kingdom
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										19	9	3	7	31	16
2026	To be determined									To be decided
Total	Group stage	1/22	3	0	0	3	2	11		115	51	23	42	194	127

United Arab Emirates's World Cup record
First Match	United Arab Emirates 0–2 Colombia (9 June 1990; Bologna, Italy)
Biggest Win	—
Biggest Defeat	West Germany 5–1 United Arab Emirates (15 June 1990; Milan, Italy)
Best Result	Group stage in 1990
Worst Result	Group stage in 1990

AFC Asian Cup

Main article: United Arab Emirates at the AFC Asian Cup

AFC Asian Cup										Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA		GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1956 to 1972	Part of the United Kingdom									Part of the United Kingdom
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	Semi-finals	4th	6	3	2	1	8	8		Hosts
2023	Qualified	TBD	0	0	0	0	0	0		8	6	0	2	23	7
Total	Runners-up	2nd	44	15	11	18	41	59		48	35	6	7	128	30

United Arab Emirates's Asian Cup record
First Match	United Arab Emirates 1–1 Kuwait (15 September 1980; Kuwait City, Kuwait)
Biggest Win	United Arab Emirates 4–1 Qatar (11 January 2015; Canberra, Australia)
Biggest Defeat	China 5–0 United Arab Emirates (11 December 1984; Kallang, Singapore)
Best Result	Second Place in 1996
Worst Result	Group stage in 1980, 1984, 1988, 2004, 2007, 2011

FIFA Confederations Cup

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

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

Gulf Cup
Year	Place	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
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	Champions	5	5	0	0	30	0
2023	TBD
Total	Champions	111	41	28	39	117	135

FIFA Arab Cup

FIFA Arab Cup
Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1963	Did not enter
1964
1966
1985
1988
1992
1998	Fourth place	4	1	0	3	6	8
2002	Did not enter
2009	Cancelled
2012	Did not enter
2021	Quarter-Finals	4	2	0	2	3	7
Total	2/10	8	3	0	5	9	15

Pan Arab Games

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 Tournaments

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	6 titles	1st	48	14	14	20	43	67

Head-to-head record

See also: United Arab Emirates national football team all-time record

As of 27 September 2022

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	7	1	2	4	2	7	−5
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	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
Gambia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
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	6	4	1	1	18	8	+10
Iran	18	1	3	14	4	26	−22
Iraq	30	7	12	11	29	43	−14
Japan	20	5	9	6	18	22	−4
Jordan	18	11	4	3	30	15	+15
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	13	8	4	1	24	13	+11
Libya	4	1	2	1	8	5	+3
Lithuania	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Malaysia	12	10	0	2	32	7	+25
Mauritania	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1
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	2	0	1	1	0	1	–1
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	32	10	8	14	35	45	−10
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	23	3	6	14	17	42	−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	24	13	8	3	37	18	+19
Tajikistan	1	1	0	0	3	2	+1
Thailand	12	7	3	2	19	12	+7
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	5	0	0	5	2	10	−8
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	2	0	0	2	0	6	−6
Vietnam	7	5	0	2	16	6	+10
Yemen	13	10	0	3	29	13	+16
Total	597	237	152	208	833	739	+94

Honours

Continental Competitions

• AFC Asian Cup

Runner-up (1): 1996

Third place (1): 2015

Fourth place (1): 1992

Semi-finals (1): 2019

Regional Competitions

• FIFA Arab Cup

Fourth place (1): 1998

• Arabian Gulf Cup

Winners (2): 2007, 2013

Runner-up (4): 1986, 1988, 1994, 2017

Minor Competitions

• Friendship Tournament

Winners (2) 1996, 1998

• Kirin Cup

Winners (1): 2005

• OSN Cup

Winners (1): 2013

• LG Cup

Winners (1): 2000

• Oman Cup

Winners (1): 2000

External links

• UAE Football Association official website (in Arabic and English)