Paulo Bento says the UAE’s World Cup qualifier against North Korea on Tuesday night will be like a cup final.
The national team’s chances of getting one of the two automatic qualifying places on offer at this stage of Asian qualifying are precariously balanced.
Realistically, they need to win all three of their remaining matches – against the Koreans on neutral territory in Riyadh, then against Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in June – to stand a chance.
Even then, they would be reliant on other results falling their way to finish in the top two of the six team pool. The two sides that do will advance straight to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, leaving the next best sides to battle through a complex system of repechage fixtures.
Bento, the UAE manager, is well aware of the importance of all of the remaining group fixtures. However, he wants his players to realise there will likely be no second chances unless they get the job done against North Korea first.
“I would not say we have three finals; I think we have one final, that is [against North Korea],” Bento said.
“Right now, the other games are not important. We need to focus on the game we are going to play now. It is important enough so that we don’t think about the games that follow after that.
“I have repeated to the players already that if you think too much about what happens far into the future, we are not going to find the solutions to what is coming close.
“Focus on the game. Respect the opponent. We need to improve certain things, and play with a different mentality than in the last game.
“They know there is a very good chance, and it is a challenge. The pressure is there, and we should live with this.”
Bento’s side have enjoyed a tumultuous run in this phase of the competition. They have had emotional wins at home and away against their great local rivals, Qatar.
They have also been outclassed twice by Iran, as well as lost points in their most underwhelming display of the pool, at home to North Korea.
“We started this journey with a victory in Doha, then we had some ups and downs – from my point of view, more in the results than in the performances,” Bento said.
“I have said this many times because it is really what I feel. The game we really performed badly was the game against North Korea at home. Also, the last game [the 2-0 loss against Iran on Thursday] was not so good in some moments of the game.
“The results that we have got, except the game in Uzbekistan [a pivotal fixture which the UAE lost 1-0], I think were fair. In Uzbekistan, I think we didn’t deserve to lose. Other than that, the results were fair: two defeats against Iran, the draw against North Korea as well.”
Bento will have to raise spirits after his side were soundly beaten in Tehran on Thursday night. That task might be made easier by the prospect of him handing a debut to Luan Pereira.
The Sharjah midfielder has been called up to the squad for the first time for these two matches, but he was not part of the matchday squad against Iran due to injury.
He has recovered from that and could be fit to feature against a North Korea side who stunned the UAE when they met earlier in the group. The Koreans were the better side in a 1-1 draw in Al Ain.
“We have tried to prepare for a game where we expect difficulties, as we already felt in the first game against North Korea,” Bento said.
“They have shown in all their games a lot of aggressiveness. They are a team who look almost all through the game for individual duels. They have fast players up front and are comfortable when the game is broken.
“It is a very important moment for us. To have a chance to go directly to the World Cup, we need three points and we will try to do our best.
“We respect our opponent. It is a game in which we need to perform really well to get those three important points.”
Abdullah Ramadan, the UAE midfielder, echoed his manager’s thoughts, saying the players are aware at what is at stake in Riyadh.
“We know the importance of the match,” Ramadan said. “We have talked between ourselves as players and we can promise the fans we will give all our effort to win. We have reflected on what happened in the Iran match and want to improve.”
