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	Paulo Bento
Captain	Khalid Eisa
Most caps	Adnan Al Talyani (161)
Top scorer	Ali Mabkhout (85)
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	UAE
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	67 2 (4 April 2024)
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 1972)
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

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 AFC 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 in which it was eliminated in the semi-finals.

The first match of the team was played 69 of the donkey iMarch 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 FIFA 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 AFC 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 Arabian 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, United Arab Emirates appointed world class coaches like Carlos Queiroz, Roy Hodgson and Dick Advocaat. In 2006, UAE appointed Bruno Metsu as the new manager. He led the Emirates to carry the 2007 Arabian 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 Arabian 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 2018 FIFA World Cup 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.

United Arab Emirates then hosted the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, this marked the second time they hosted an AFC Asian Cup. The team had Italian Alberto Zaccheroni as their coach. In the AFC 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 with the UAE chosen to host Group G, they were able to utilize the home-field 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.

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

Qatar

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.

Kit

 

Wiki Commons has media related to United Arab Emirates national football team kits.

The UAE's traditional home kit is all-white with some red trim while their away kit is 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–present

Nickname

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 Wiki article on the team, and the AFC was forced to apologise.

Home stadium

As of 2022, UAE has played in 12 home stadiums. Most games have taken place at Zayed Sports City 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    Kyrgyzstan (30 December 2023; Friendly)
	Al Nahyan Stadium	12,201	Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi	v    Thailand (28 March 2023; 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      Nepal (16 November 2023; 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification)
	Rashid Stadium	12,000	Dubai, Dubai	v    Jordan (24 May 2021; Friendly)
	Al Awir Stadium	10,000	Al Awir, Dubai	v    Uzbekistan (14 October 2014; Friendly)
	Sharjah Stadium	18,000	Sharjah, Sharjah	v    Uzbekistan (28 January 2009; 2011 AFC Asian Cup qualification)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

Costa Rica   v   United Arab Emirates

12 September 2023 Friendly	Costa Rica	1–4	United Arab Emirates	Zagreb, Croatia
17:00 UTC+2	Cascante   64'	Report	Al-Ghassani   16', 53' Canedo   23' Salmeen   38'	Stadium: Maksimir Stadium Referee: Ante Čulina (Croatia)

United Arab Emirates   v   Kuwait

12 October 2023 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	1–0	Kuwait	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
21:00 UTC+4	Al-Zaabi   27'	Report		Stadium: Al Maktoum Stadium Referee: Ibrahim Nour (Egypt)

United Arab Emirates   v   Lebanon

17 October 2023 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	2–1	Lebanon	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
20:00 UTC+4	Canedo   26' Adil   90+2'	Report	Darwich   34'	Stadium: Al Maktoum Stadium Referee: Mohamed Adel (Egypt)

United Arab Emirates   v     Nepal

16 November 2023 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	4–0	Nepal	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
19:45 UTC+4	Al Hammadi   11' Mabkhout   36' (pen.), 44' Lima   45+1'	Report		Stadium: Al Maktoum Stadium Attendance: 3,640 Referee: Hettikamkanamge Perera (Sri Lanka)

Bahrain   v   United Arab Emirates

21 November 2023 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Bahrain	0–2	United Arab Emirates	Riffa, Bahrain
21:15 UTC+3		Report	Ramadan   36' Mabkhout   90' (pen.)	Stadium: Bahrain National Stadium Attendance: 18,267 Referee: Mohammed Al Hoish (Saudi Arabia)

United Arab Emirates   v   Kyrgyzstan

30 December 2023 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	1–0	Kyrgyzstan	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
19:15 UTC+4	Mabkhout   90+1' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium Referee: Sami Ahmed (Saudi Arabia)

2024

United Arab Emirates   v   Oman

6 January 2024 Unofficial Friendly	United Arab Emirates	0–1	Oman	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
19:15 UTC+4		Report	Fawaz   5'	Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Referee: Abdulla Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia)

United Arab Emirates   v   Hong Kong

14 January 2024 Asian Cup	United Arab Emirates	3–1	Hong Kong	Al Rayyan, Qatar
17:30 UTC+3	Adil   34' (pen.) Sultan   53' Al-Ghassani   90+5' (pen.)	Report	Kwan   49'	Stadium: Khalifa International Stadium Attendance: 15,586 Referee: Muhammad Taqi (Singapore)

Palestine   v   United Arab Emirates

18 January 2024 Asian Cup	Palestine	1–1	United Arab Emirates	Al Wakrah, Qatar
20:30 UTC+3	Nasser   50' (o.g.)	Report	Adil   23'	Stadium: Al Janoub Stadium Attendance: 41,986 Referee: Ahmad Al-Ali (Kuwait)

Iran   v   United Arab Emirates

23 January 2024 Asian Cup	Iran	2–1	United Arab Emirates	Al Rayyan, Qatar
18:00 UTC+3	Taremi   25', 65'	Report	Al-Ghassani   90+3'	Stadium: Education City Stadium Attendance: 34,259 Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Tajikistan   v   United Arab Emirates

28 January 2024 Asian Cup R16	Tajikistan	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)	United Arab Emirates	Al Rayyan, Qatar
19:00 UTC+3	Khanonov   30'	Report	Al Hammadi   90+5'	Stadium: Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Referee: Yusuke Araki (Japan)
	Penalties
	Nazarov   Khanonov   Panjshanbe   Soirov   Shukurov		Idrees   Caio   Lima   Saleh

United Arab Emirates   v   Yemen

21 March 2024 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	2–1	Yemen	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
22:00 UTC+4	Saleh   24' (pen.) Adil   72'	Report	Idrees   69' (o.g.)	Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 2,948 Referee: Mohanad Qasim Sarray (Iraq)

Yemen   v   United Arab Emirates

26 March 2024 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Yemen	0–3	United Arab Emirates	Khobar, Saudi Arabia
22:00 UTC+3		Report	Lima   14', 22' Adil   35'	Stadium: Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sports City Attendance: 1,135 Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)

Nepal     v   United Arab Emirates

6 June 2024 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Nepal	v	United Arab Emirates	Kathmandu, Nepal
--:-- UTC+5:45		Report		Stadium: Dasharath Rangasala

United Arab Emirates   v   Bahrain

11 June 2024 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	United Arab Emirates	v	Bahrain	United Arab Emirates
--:-- UTC+4		Report		Stadium: TBA

Last Update: November 2023

Position	Name
Head coach	Paulo Bento
Assistant coach	Yaser Al Saedi
	Mohamed Al Balooshi
	Sergio Costa
	Filipe Coelho
Goalkeeping coach	Vitor Silvestre
Fitness coach	Pedro Pereira
Doctor	Flavio Cruz
Sport Scientist	Francisco Calvete
Match Analyst	Karim Tayara

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification games against   Yemen on 21 and 26 March 2024..

Caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against   Yemen.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Ali Khasif	(1987-06-09) 9 June 1987 (age 36)	72	0	Al Jazira
17	1GK	Khalid Eisa	(1989-09-15) 15 September 1989 (age 34)	76	0	Al Ain
22	1GK	Khaled Tawhid	(2004-02-16) 16 February 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Sharjah
2	2DF	Abdulla Idrees	(1999-08-16) 16 August 1999 (age 24)	13	0	Al Jazira
3	2DF	Zayed Sultan	(2001-04-11) 11 April 2001 (age 23)	9	1	Al Jazira
4	2DF	Khalid Al-Hashemi	(1997-03-18) 18 March 1997 (age 27)	15	0	Al Ain
12	2DF	Khalifa Al-Hammadi	(1998-11-07) 7 November 1998 (age 25)	43	2	Al Jazira
13	2DF	Mohammed Al-Attas	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 (age 26)	28	1	Al Jazira
18	2DF	Bader Nasser	(2001-09-16) 16 September 2001 (age 22)	11	0	Shabab Al Ahli
19	2DF	Khaled Ibrahim	(1997-01-17) 17 January 1997 (age 27)	14	0	Sharjah
21	2DF	Ahmed Jamil	(1999-01-16) 16 January 1999 (age 25)	10	0	Shabab Al Ahli
5	3MF	Ali Salmeen	(1995-04-02) 2 April 1995 (age 29)	60	3	Al Wasl
6	3MF	Isam Faiz	(2000-03-06) 6 March 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Ajman
8	3MF	Tahnoon Al-Zaabi	(1999-04-10) 10 April 1999 (age 25)	28	1	Al Wahda
14	3MF	Abdulla Hamad	(2001-09-18) 18 September 2001 (age 22)	14	0	Al Wahda
15	3MF	Yahia Nader	(1998-09-11) 11 September 1998 (age 25)	10	0	Al Ain
16	3MF	Mohammed Abbas	(2002-09-30) 30 September 2002 (age 21)	5	0	Al Ain
21	3MF	Hazem Mohammad	(2005-03-18) 18 March 2005 (age 19)	3	0	Al Ain
7	4FW	Ali Saleh	(2000-01-22) 22 January 2000 (age 24)	36	4	Al Wasl
9	4FW	Harib Abdalla	(2002-11-26) 26 November 2002 (age 21)	24	2	Shabab Al Ahli
10	4FW	Fábio Lima	(1993-06-30) 30 June 1993 (age 30)	30	12	Al Wasl
11	4FW	Caio Canedo	(1990-08-09) 9 August 1990 (age 33)	43	9	Al Wasl
20	4FW	Yahya Al Ghassani	(1998-04-18) 18 April 1998 (age 26)	18	5	Shabab Al Ahli
23	4FW	Sultan Adil	(2004-05-04) 4 May 2004 (age 19)	10	5	Kalba

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	Hassan Hamza	(1994-11-10) 10 November 1994 (age 29)	0	0	Shabab Al Ahli	2023 AFC Asian Cup
GK	Adel Al-Hosani	(1989-08-23) 23 August 1989 (age 34)	1	0	Sharjah	v.   Costa Rica, 12 September 2023
DF	Abdulrahman Saleh	(2002-10-13) 13 October 2002 (age 21)	2	0	Al Wasl	2023 AFC Asian Cup
DF	Omar Haikal	(2002-11-19) 19 November 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Al Wasl	v.   Kyrgyzstan, 30 December 2023
DF	Yousif Al-Mheiri	(1999-11-30) 30 November 1999 (age 24)	0	0	Al Wasl	v.   Kyrgyzstan, 30 December 2023
DF	Khalid Butti	(1991-08-31) 31 August 1991 (age 32)	0	0	Al Wahda	v.   Bahrain, 21 November 2023
DF	Abdullah Al-Hashmi	(2001-01-19) 19 January 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Al Jazira	v.   Lebanon, 17 October 2023
DF	Ali Al-Dhanhani	(1991-06-01) 1 June 1991 (age 32)	0	0	Al Bataeh	v.   Kuwait, 12 October 2023
DF	Al Hassan Saleh	(1991-06-25) 25 June 1991 (age 32)	12	0	Sharjah	v.   Costa Rica, 12 September 2023
DF	Ahmed Barman	(1994-02-05) 5 February 1994 (age 30)	19	1	Al Ain	v.   Costa Rica, 12 September 2023
DF	Bandar Al-Ahbabi	(1990-07-09) 9 July 1990 (age 33)	45	2	Al Ain	v.   Costa Rica, 12 September 2023
DF	Walid Abbas	(1985-06-11) 11 June 1985 (age 38)	106	6	Shabab Al Ahli	v.   Costa Rica, 12 September 2023
MF	Majid Rashid	(2000-05-16) 16 May 2000 (age 23)	16	0	Sharjah	v.   Yemen, 21 March 2024
MF	Abdullah Ramadan	(1998-03-07) 7 March 1998 (age 26)	46	1	Al Jazira	2023 AFC Asian Cup
MF	Ahmed Mahmoud	(2001-01-06) 6 January 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Al Jazira	v.   Lebanon, 17 October 2023
MF	Mubarak Zamah	(2003-11-29) 29 November 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Al Jazira	v.   Costa Rica, 12 September 2023
MF	Mohammed Abdulbasit	(1995-10-19) 19 October 1995 (age 28)	5	0	Sharjah	v.   Costa Rica, 12 September 2023
FW	Ali Mabkhout	(1990-10-05) 5 October 1990 (age 33)	114	85	Al Jazira	2023 AFC Asian Cup
FW	Eisa Khalfan	(2003-03-12) 12 March 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Al Ain	v.   Kyrgyzstan, 30 December 2023
FW	Mohammed Jumaa	(1997-01-28) 28 January 1997 (age 27)	9	1	Shabab Al Ahli	v.   Lebanon, 17 October 2023
FW	Ahmed Al-Attas	(1995-09-28) 28 September 1995 (age 28)	11	1	Al Jazira	v.   Kuwait, 12 October 2023
SUS Suspended INJ Withdrew from the squad due to an injury PRE Preliminary squad RET Retired from international association football

List of UAE squads

As of 30 December 2023
Players in bold are still active with United Arab Emirates.

Most appearances

 

Top goalscorers

 

  Champion    Runners-up    Third place  

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	F	A		Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1930 to 1970	Protectorate of the   United Kingdom									Protectorate of the   United Kingdom
1974	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1978	Withdrew									Withdrew
1982	Did not enter									Did not enter
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									4	4	0	0	11	1
2030										To be determined
2034
Total	Group stage	1/12	3	0	0	3	2	11		119	55	23	42	205	128

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

AFC Asian Cup										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	M	W	D	L	GF	GA		M	W	D	L	GF	GA
1956 to   1972	Protectorate of the   United Kingdom									Protectorate 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		6th	4	2	0	2	3	8		4	3	0	1	24	2
1988		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		Qualified as 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		12th	3	1	0	2	3	6		6	4	1	1	11	6
2011		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		Qualified as hosts
2023	Round of 16	10th	4	1	2	1	6	5		8	6	0	2	23	7
2027	Qualified									4	4	0	0	11	1
Total	Runners-up	12/13	48	16	14	19	47	64		52	39	6	7	139	31

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	M	W	D	L	GF	GA
1964-1982	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

West Asian Football Federation Championship

WAFF Championship record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2000	Did not participate
2002
2004
2007
2008
2010
2012
2014
2019
2023	Qualified as hosts
Total	1/10	-	-	-	-	-	-

Gulf Cup

Gulf Cup
Year	Result	M	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	Group Stage	3	1	0	2	5	6
2023	Group Stage	3	0	1	2	2	4
2024	Qualified
2025
Total	Champions	114	41	29	41	119	139

FIFA Arab Cup

FIFA Arab Cup
Year	Round	M	W	D	L	GF	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

Arab Games

Arab Games
Year	Round	M	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

As of 26 March 2024

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
Argentina	1	0	0	1	0	5	–5
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	31	14	6	12	52	45	+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
Costa Rica	1	1	0	0	4	1	+3
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	4	3	1	0	12	2	+10
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	19	1	3	15	5	28	−23
Iraq	30	7	12	11	29	43	−14
Japan	20	6	8	6	18	22	−4
Jordan	18	11	4	3	30	15	+15
Kazakhstan	4	3	0	1	11	6	+5
Kenya	1	0	1	0	2	2	0
Kuwait	43	17	8	18	50	75	−25
Kyrgyzstan	2	2	0	0	4	2	+2
Laos	3	3	0	0	9	0	+9
Lebanon	15	10	4	1	27	14	+12
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	2	2	0	0	15	0	+15
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	6	2	3	1	7	3	+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	33	10	9	14	36	46	−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	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1
Thailand	13	8	3	2	21	12	+9
East Timor	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	15	12	0	3	34	14	+20
Total	617	253	159	208	872	750	+122