Athletes stressed that the time is not appropriate to replace the Portuguese coach, Paulo Bento, with another coach, whether a citizen or a foreigner, despite the major failure that accompanied the participation of the national football team, during its recent participation in the 26th Arabian Gulf Cup in Kuwait, and its exit from the round. The first without achieving any victory in three matches he played in the tournament.
They told Emirates Al-Youm: “The team has an important achievement ahead of it in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, in which it has a chance of qualifying directly to the World Cup.”
They explained: “Pinto must address the technical errors in the team, and take advantage of the elements that have finally obtained Emirati citizenship, in creating a strong team, in addition to changing his way of dealing with players and matches, because the approach that the coach is currently following has proven useless, and is now in need.” To reform and re-adjust, whether the players’ choices or even the method of playing, as well as the process of preparing for matches.”
The team occupies third place in its group standings in the World Cup qualifiers with 10 points, behind both the Iranian team that leads with 16 points, and the Uzbek team that is the runner-up with 13 points, while two teams qualify directly for the World Cup.
The time is not right
Technical analyst Ahmed Hammad said: “The time is not appropriate to replace Pinto and contract with a new coach, as the national team has a very important entitlement ahead of it, which is the remaining matches in the qualifiers for the World Cup, but the coach must listen to the opinions of the sports street and technicians regarding his method of training.” White, and he must sometimes change his current method, whether in terms of his choices of players or the method of playing, in addition to the importance of obtaining sufficient time in the process of preparing the team, and all of these matters are counted on Pinto, not his.
Hammad added: “Although Pinto is a coach with great experience and experience, there are many comments on him, and it has become clear to everyone that the path he is currently taking needs to be re-adjusted in line with the interests of Emirates football.”
Hammad continued: “The sports analysts and commentators who were present at the Gulf Cup in Kuwait were shocked by the image in which the team appeared, especially since it went to the tournament as a candidate for the title, but it surprised everyone.”
He continued: “It is true that the team won the World Cup qualifiers over the Kyrgyzstan and Qatar teams, but the form in which it appeared was not good, and time should not be wasted searching for a new coach, especially since the team has now completed half of the journey, and its position has become somewhat good in qualifying for the World Cup.” After he became close to second place in the group, Pinto must continue, provided that the mistakes are addressed.”
Real evaluation
For his part, technical analyst Antar Marzouk said: “The team’s results in the Gulf Championship were not good, and it lacked some things, such as the method of play adopted by the coach, including relying on an imaginary striker in the absence of a clear striker, in addition to the lack of adaptation of some of the players who joined. Finally, to the national team, with the old elements, in addition to the individual mistakes that occurred from some players, and the coach himself has mistakes, but he cannot be held responsible for all of it alone, and also there are some players who do not deserve to play in the national team that needs stars with specifications. especially”.
He added, “If the Football Association sits with the coach to change some things in his mind, he must ensure the coach stays, and base his evaluation on the World Cup qualifiers, not the Gulf Cup, as the Whites can, with a little luck, qualify for the World Cup.”
Ali Saleh
The former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kalba Club, Issa Al-Dhabhi, said, “The time is not appropriate to replace Pinto with another coach, as the sports street demands, despite the recent technical errors he made during his participation in the Gulf Cup.”
He added: “The Football Association is required to sit down with the coach and hold him accountable to correct the team’s path, reset matters, and continue the search for a qualifying ticket to the World Cup finals.”
He continued: “There are players whose capabilities and appreciation Pinto must reconsider, as I do not agree with him in excluding Al-Wasl player Ali Saleh, as he is one of the best players in the Emirates stadiums.”
Ali Hamid: The percentage of the team qualifying for the World Cup with Pinto is less than 50%
Sports commentator and technical analyst Ali Hamid said: “Pinto must be held accountable and discussed with him, because there were mistakes that occurred in the national team, and I wonder who is responsible for these mistakes: is he the coach or the Football Association?”
He explained: “Unfortunately, the Football Association does not have a technical committee or a national teams committee after it was dissolved, so the presence of the committee is very necessary to hold the coach accountable or discuss with him about his options and method of playing.”
He added: “I am not in favor of Pinto continuing to coach the national team, out of sympathy for the results and performance of the national team, and the failure it caused, especially since it has very excellent elements of players who could have created the required addition to the national team, especially with the presence of players who recently obtained Emirati citizenship, but he He was unable to harness the potential of these players for the benefit of the national team, in addition to the fact that the coach plays with a different formation in each match, in addition to the many changes he makes, and the technical errors that are repeated from one match to another, in addition to his relationship with some of the players was not good, Starting with the issue of his problem with the player Bandar Al-Ahbabi, then Ali Mabkhout, and also with Ali Saleh.
Regarding the alternative coach who could be nominated to succeed Pinto, Ali Hamid said: “I nominate the national coach, Hassan Al-Abdouli, the assistant coach of the former national team, Mahdi Ali, as he is considered the best coach for the national team at this stage, because I know his abilities and technical capabilities, especially since there are new influential names.” “You will join the national team in the coming period, but I am convinced that the Football Association will keep Pinto, and if he continues, the percentage of the national team qualifying for the World Cup will be less than 50%.”
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