The former national team and Al-Nasr club player, Khaled Ismail, said that the first national football team no longer needs the services of its Portuguese coach, Paulo Bento, after he exhausted all the opportunities he received and did not invest them in a way that reassures the Emirati fans of reaching the “white club.” The 2026 World Cup finals, or the Arabian Gulf Football Cup held in Kuwait (Gulf 26), which the team exited in the first round.
Ismail confirmed to “Emirates Today” that “Pinto’s balance has run out, and the task must be assigned to a national coach who can restore the lost spirit in the national team, whose picture appeared in (Khaleeji 26).”
He added: “We have many who can correct Pinto’s path, led by national coach Mahdi Ali, who has a great history that no one can deny, and I imagine that he will be the magic solution to preserve our chances of qualifying for the World Cup, which is still in our hands until now.”
Khaled Ismail, who was one of the stars of the Emirates team that qualified for the 1990 World Cup finals, said: “Pinto harmed the team with the many changes he made in every match, whether in the World Cup qualifiers or in (Gulf 26), and these changes confirm beyond doubt There is no doubt that the coach’s focus on the national team is divided. I do not understand how he makes four changes between each match and the next, even though there is a small time difference between them, which does not allow for all these adjustments.”
He continued: “I am not talking about players outside the national team who deserved to be in the squad, as is said in the sports street, but as long as the coach voluntarily chose some names to be on his list, he is fully responsible for their performance and contribution in the matches, but what happened confirms “The coach is unaware of the abilities and potential of his players.”
Khaled Ismail criticized the Portuguese coach’s statements after the team bid farewell to the Gulf Cup tournament in the group stage, in which he confirmed the rejection of his request to postpone the tenth round of the ADNOC Professional League to prepare for a better tournament (Gulf 26).
He said: “These statements condemn the coach more than they make us seek excuses for him. If Pinto had a strong personality, his request would have been approved. The coach is first and last responsible for the plans to prepare the team, more than any other person or entity.”
Khaled Ismail considered that naturalization harmed the national team more than it benefited it.
He explained: “I will say something for the public interest, and I do not hope that anyone will misunderstand my words. Naturalization in this way that has occurred in recent years has harmed Emirati football in general, and the national team, more than it has benefited it.”
He continued: “Unfortunately, everyone has begun to seek quick results, whether in clubs or the first team, and we no longer plan properly to develop the game according to correct foundations. We clearly neglected the citizen player, neglected to pay attention to the base, and we no longer have a clear picture of the future. All we have become is What we think about is the results, and unfortunately we did not achieve the results, and we no longer have a football future to be optimistic about.”
He said: “I am not against naturalization, and I strongly support the naturalization of elite players, but the majority of white players will not become naturalized.”
Khaled Ismail concluded by saying: “The arrival of Oman and Bahrain to the final match of (Gulf 26) confirms that successes are not always achieved in a strong professional league. Football is played with the spirit, with zeal for the slogan, and with sacrifices.”
. .
