Bento’s UAE enjoy dream international week to reignite World Cup hopes

Paulo Bento celebrates with Harib Abdalla after defeating Qatar at Al-Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, November 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 20 November 2024
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Bento’s UAE enjoy dream international week to reignite World Cup hopes

  • Emirati team raises possibility of a return to the game’s biggest stage for the first since 1990
  • A quartet of charged fixtures remain to bridge a three-point gap to second-placed Uzbekistan

DUBAI: Not even the UAE’s Golden Generation enjoyed a night quite like this.

Tuesday’s rampant 5-0 thrashing of Qatar turbo-boosted hopes of making a hallowed World Cup return for the first time since 1990 and emphatically earned redemption for a series of humbling results inflicted by their Gulf neighbour.

Such was the heightened feeling of bonhomie throughout the Emirates that a post-match McDonald’s visit by four-goal Fabio De Lima was interrupted by a grateful Al-Nasr supporter telling the star of Dubai rivals Al-Wasl: “Today, I love you.”

At times of great joy, a sense of perspective is hard to find.

Especially when celebrations follow a thumping of the double Asian Cup holders to earn one of the great occasions in your country’s footballing history, bettering the contentious semi-final defeat on home soil by Qatar in 2019’s edition.

Added momentum comes from last week’s 3-0 Group A victory against Kyrgyzstan, inspired by Shabab Al-Ahli star Harib Abdalla.

Much has been accomplished by the third-placed Whites, who are now within touching distance of the automatic qualification spots, but much remains to achieve on this tricky path to World Cup 2026.

“In this moment, it is normal that some people are really happy and, sometimes, out of control,” said boss Paulo Bento at Al-Nahyan Stadium. “It is important that we keep calm and be humble.

“That is the most important for us. They (the players) know how we, as a technical staff, think.

“We faced a very good team (Qatar), with very good players. Well managed, that have very good principles.

“We tried to choose the best strategy to control their best features and, at the same time, explore their weaknesses. The responsibility for that was the guys.

“They accomplished the game plan in the best way. We know it was difficult to predict how Qatar could play.

“The guys adapted themselves in the right way. To reach a result like this, it is important to be fair.

“In Uzbekistan, we had chances to score, but at the end, we were not effective. Today, we were really effective.

“All of this allowed us to reach this kind of result. But, in football, it is normal that the good ones are the guys that win and the bad ones are the guys that lose.

“Things are not like that. It was because we respect them (Qatar) that we won the game.”

The UAE’s second-ever entry into the world’s most important football event appeared to be slipping away after October’s disheartening 1-1 home draw with bottom-placed North Korea and 1-0 defeat against 10 men in Uzbekistan.

This once-perilous situation has changed for the better during a crunch November that has returned them to contention.

It also shifts the narrative around a UAE side typically viewed as talented, but unable to consistently deliver in clutch moments.

No one questioned the peerless ability of AFC Players of the Year Omar Abdulrahman and Ahmed Khalil, ruthless 2015 Asian Cup top scorer Ali Mabkhout and much of the preceding Golden Generation.

They even gained silverware at the 2013 Arabian Gulf Cup and represented their country with distinction at the London 2012 Olympics.

This cherished cohort did not, truthfully, come close to making World Cup 2014 or 2018. False dawns included memorable qualifying wins against Japan and Saudi Arabia, eventually rendered worthless by dropped points versus also-rans.

Neither could the emergent squad that followed for 2022’s cycle. They narrowly fell to Asian heavyweights Australia in the fourth round, without the injured De Lima.

The confines are still punishingly tight for 2026. Bento, his players and the UAE en masse, however, now hold tangible reasons to believe.

They are the third round’s joint-second top scorers with 12 goals — only an omnipotent Japan have more with 22. Their four goals conceded is bettered only by the Japanese (two) and Iraq (three).

Clubmates Yahya Al-Ghassani and Abdalla were at their freewheeling best this month. A centre-back pairing of Al-Jazira’s graceful Khalifa Al-Hammadi and Al-Ain’s redoubtable Kouame Autonne competes with anything on the continent.

Enviable strength in depth was provided by Fleetwood Town utility man Mackenzie Hunt, Wasl’s Tahnoon Al-Zaabi and veteran striker Caio Canedo.

Words can scarcely do justice to De Lima, his adopted country’s first “super hat-trick” scorer in World Cup qualifying. Three of these came before half-time, including a sumptuous free kick.

Further encouragement is provided by possible debut call-ups for more naturalised players when qualifying resumes with avisit to World Cup regulars Iran on March 20, 2025. These could include prolific Sharjah forward Caio Lucas, plus Al-Wahda’s promising defenders Lucas Pimenta and Alaeddine Zouhir.

A quartet of charged fixtures remain to bridge a three-point gap to second-placed Uzbekistan and their section’s final automatic spot, with leaders Iran a further three points ahead. The penultimate clash with the Uzbeks on June 5, 2025 looms large.

Qatar are only three points further behind. Their ambitions of gate-crashing the top two are not extinguished, despite the UAE’s pair of redeeming third-round wins against them.

Fail to make the most of this month’s 100 percent haul and the fourth-round lottery awaits. Even more jeopardy would follow for the UAE in the fifth round/inter-confederation play-offs.

Bento’s measured approach has patiently put his charges in a position to secure direct entry. A shot at legendary status is theirs to grasp.


Leipzig put Bayern and Kane’s title party on ice

Updated 17 sec ago
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Leipzig put Bayern and Kane’s title party on ice

Leroy Sane looked to have completed the comeback and clinch the title
The result keeps Bayer Leverkusen’s slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title alive

MUNICH: Bayern Munich and Harry Kane’s German Bundesliga title party was delayed by at least a day after RB Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen scored a stoppage-time equalizer in a 3-3 home draw on Saturday.
With Kane sitting in the stands due to a yellow card suspension, Bayern fell two down by half-time, Leipzig scoring twice in teaming rain in Saxony through Benjamin Sesko and Lucas Klostermann.
Bayern then scored twice in 46 seconds through Eric Dier and Michael Olize to level things up with just under 30 minutes remaining.
Leroy Sane looked to have completed the comeback and clinch the title, hitting an unstoppable shot from the right of goal on the 83rd-minute mark.
But Poulsen, subbed on with 30 minutes to go, chipped the ball over Urbig in the fifth minute of stoppage time to snatch a draw.
The result keeps Bayer Leverkusen’s slim chances of defending their Bundesliga title alive.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen play at Freiburg on Sunday and need to win their three remaining games, with Bayern, who have a significant goal difference advantage, needing just a point to lift the title.
Leipzig grabbed the lead 11 minutes in when Sesko pounced on a mistake from visiting ‘keeper Jonas Urbig, who was slipped while well outside of his penalty box, allowing the Slovenian to hit a long-range shot home.
Klostermann doubled Leipzig’s lead shortly before half-time, heading in from a David Raum header.
Leipzig, who needed a win to boost their hopes of Champions League football next season, were in control and looked on track for victory until Bayern shocked the hosts with two goals in 46 seconds.
Dier headed in from a corner, his third goal in his past four games, before Olize made the most of a Leipzig defensive mistake to level the scores.
Sane’s late goal sent Bayern’s bench wild.
As the clock wound down, a beaming Kane made his way down from the stands to the sidelines, ready to collect the title of his career.
Poulsen was however sent through on goal by Xavi Simons and cooly chipped the ‘keeper to delay Bayern’s party by at least a day.
Later on Sunday, Borussia Dortmund can keep their top-four hopes alive with a win at home against Wolfsburg.
Champions League finalists last season, Dortmund were as low as 11th this year but have won four of their past five.

Chile footballer Vidal cleared of suspicion in sexual assault case

Updated 7 min 29 sec ago
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Chile footballer Vidal cleared of suspicion in sexual assault case

  • The woman accused Vidal and other Colo Colo players of sexual assault
  • Other unnamed members of Vidal’s team remain under investigation

SANTIAGO: Chilean football star Arturo Vidal has been cleared of suspicion of sexual assault, prosecutors said Saturday, adding that the complaint made by a woman over a party at a Santiago night club had been dismissed.
The woman accused Vidal, 37, and other players from his first-division Colo Colo side of sexual assault at a club, where the footballers were celebrating a birthday on November 4.
“We were able to reconstitute the events of that day and, ultimately, there is no evidence to support charges,” prosecutor Felipe Cembrano said in a video sent to the media.
Other unnamed members of Vidal’s team remain under investigation, however.
Former Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Inter Milan midfielder Vidal returned last year to Colo Colo, where he started his career at 17.
He was part of the so-called “Golden Generation” that led Chile to victory in the 2015 Copa America.


Snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan plans move to Middle East after World Championship exit

Updated 03 May 2025
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Snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan plans move to Middle East after World Championship exit

  • The 49-year-old, widely regarded as the greatest snooker player in history, made the announcement after a heavy 17–7 defeat to Zhao Xintong in the semifinals of the World Championship

LONDON: Seven-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed plans to leave the UK and start a new chapter of his life in the Middle East, BBC Sport reported on Saturday.

The 49-year-old, widely regarded as the greatest snooker player in history, made the announcement after a heavy 17–7 defeat to Zhao Xintong in the semifinals of the World Championship in Sheffield on Friday.

The loss marked the end of his first tournament appearance since snapping his cue in frustration at the Championship League in January.

“I think I am going to be moving out of the UK this year,” said O’Sullivan, who is based in Essex and also runs a snooker academy in Saudi Arabia.

“I’ll be moving away to the Middle East. We’ll see how it goes, I might be back in six months. A new life somewhere else. I don’t know how that is going to pan out,” he added.

“The Rocket,” as he is known, had raised hopes of an eighth Crucible crown, which would stand alone as a modern-era record, with earlier victories over Ali Carter, Pang Junxu and Si Jiahui. But he was comfortably outplayed by former UK champion Zhao, who sealed victory with a session to spare.

Despite his long list of achievements — including a record 41 ranking titles, five more than Stephen Hendry — O’Sullivan admitted he is struggling to visualize what lies ahead.

“I will still try to play snooker, but I don’t know what the future looks like for me, really,” he said. “It is a big part of my life, but I have to try and figure out what my future looks like, whether it’s playing or not.”

O’Sullivan has spoken openly in recent years about his struggles with motivation and mental health, and previously revealed he had taken medication to deal with anxiety.

His absence from the sport for several months earlier this season prompted speculation about whether he might be winding down his career ahead of his 50th birthday in December.

At this year’s tournament, he has also faced a battle with his equipment after breaking his trusted cue — a problem he said was still unresolved.

“I don’t even know if it was the cue, the ferrule or me. There were three things,” he said. “I didn’t know where the white ball was going. I was at a loss. I won’t throw the cue. The merchandise people want it, so it will be up for sale.

“I’ve been playing like that quite a lot in practice and it’s just hard to get my head around. I can’t even fix it, that’s the problem. I know I said I’d like to try and give it two years, but if you’re going to play like that it’s pretty pointless. It’s not good.”

O’Sullivan was full of praise for his young Chinese opponent following the crushing defeat.

“We’ve got a really nice relationship, I’m always trying to help him if I can. He wanted the crowd to give me clap, but it’s his moment. I tried to get off as quick as I could because it’s his moment,” he told Sportsboom.com

“It’d be amazing if he did it. He’d be a mega star, he’s still very big in China as it is. But if he becomes world champion, he’ll be unbelievable. It will just be amazing for snooker, and his life as well.

“He can definitely get over the line. But he’ll have more of a test against the other two guys in the semis. I think that’ll be a proper test for him.”


Times Square boxing event ends in a stunner as Rolando Romero beats Ryan Garcia. Haney, Lopez win

Updated 03 May 2025
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Times Square boxing event ends in a stunner as Rolando Romero beats Ryan Garcia. Haney, Lopez win

  • Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, wanted something unique for Ring Magazine’s first boxing card in the US after purchasing it last year.

NEW YORK: Ryan Garcia arrived in Times Square in a Batmobile, hoping to look like a superhero in his return to boxing.
Minutes later, he was hurt and on the canvas, looking up at the billboards and bright lights on the marquees surrounding the ring after being knocked down by Rolando “Rolly” Romero’s crushing left hand in the second round.
Wham! Pow!
Romero went on to beat Garcia by unanimous decision Friday night, a surprising finish to a night of boxing like none other.
“Just Rolly’s night,” Garcia said. “He fought a good fight. Caught me early.”
Times Square was the setting for Garcia’s first fight since he was suspended for a year after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in his victory over Devin Haney that was later overturned and ruled a no contest.
The plan was for Garcia and Haney to move on to a rematch if they both won Friday, but only Haney held up his end of the bargain.
He beat Jose Ramirez by unanimous decision in a matchup of former 140-pound champions, after Teofimo Lopez defended his junior welterweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Arnold Barboza Jr.
On a night that saw ring girls replaced by impersonators of celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Hulk Hogan and Michael Jackson, performers in Elmo costumes and a drummer playing — standard sights and sounds in Times Square on a Friday night — Romero (17-2) ended up as the star of the show.
He seemed to gain more confidence in the later rounds, letting more hard shots go as it become clear Garcia (24-2) didn’t seem capable of stopping him. He won 115-112 on two cards and the other judge scored it 118-109.
But Romero, who was knocked out by Gervonta Davis in a previous title shot in New York, didn’t argue that he should now take Garcia’s place against Haney.
“Man, I ain’t even thinking about what’s next,” he said. “I think Devin and Ryan should get their rematch and make a big one.”
The Garcia who knocked Haney down three times was nowhere to be seen in Times Square – which will undoubtedly lead to questions about how much the drugs affected that performance last April 20.
“I just think that whole year took a lot off my body physically and mentally,” Garcia said.
Haney and Lopez looked like themselves. So much going on around them looked nothing like a normal big-fight night.
Fighters were delivered from the hotel a couple of blocks away by cars, with Lopez arriving in a traditional yellow taxicab and Garcia coming in Batman’s vehicle. The cars had to stop at traffic lights in between before pulling up outside the ring for the fighters to take a shortened ring walk.
Haney (32-0) won by scores of 119-109 twice and 118-110 on the other card, repeatedly catching Ramirez (29-3) coming in with counter punches off the ropes.
Lopez won 118-110 on one judge’s card and 116-112 on the other two after controlling the fight with his advantages in hand and foot speed.
The Brooklyn product who has fought in title bouts in Madison Square Garden put on a strong performance in a venue unlike the famed arena 10 blocks to the south.
He improved to 22-1, celebrating in front of his hometown fans with his arms raised in the shadows of the pole from where the ball drops on New Year’s Eve in New York’s tourist center.
Boxers such as Mike Tyson, Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson had seats outside the ring along with New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns and a couple of people wearing Elmo costumes. A drummer performed earlier in the night while waiting for the next bout to begin.
Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, wanted something unique for Ring Magazine’s first boxing card in the US after purchasing it last year.
Thus began the plan to fight in Times Square, bypassing Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center for the trip to New York.
Seventh Avenue remained open to traffic — with cars being held only briefly when the fighters’ cars crossed over — with orange fencing blocking the view of fans standing across the street wondering what was happening inside.
Those who did have ringside access — and it was unclear how many did or how they got it, though it wasn’t a large number — could pass the time between bouts reading the ticker that scrolled along the outside of ABC’s Times Square studios just above the ring.
“It wasn’t as big as I expected it to get,” Lopez said of his bout, before adding it felt bigger as the night went on.


Al-Hilal part ways with coach Jorge Jesus

Updated 03 May 2025
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Al-Hilal part ways with coach Jorge Jesus

RIYADH: Al-Hilal and coach Jorge Jesus have parted ways, according to a club announcement early on Saturday.

“The Board of Directors of Al-Hilal Club Company has agreed with the Portuguese head coach of the first football team Jorge Jesus to terminate the contractual relationship between them,” the club posted on social media.

Coach Mohammed Al-Shalhoub will now take over first-team duties.

“The Board expressed its appreciation for the efforts made by the technical staff since last season,” the Al-Hilal statement said.

The surprising aspect about Jorge Jesus being dismissed by Al-Hilal is that it is not that surprising. The Portuguese boss took the job for a second time in July 2023 and hit the ground running. A few months later, he was leading the Blues to a world-record winning streak of 34 games. It was a phenomenal first season with the Saudi Pro League title, the King’s Cup and the Saudi Super Cup. Yet despite the silverware, the bullet had been coming.

Losing the semifinal of the AFC Champions League Elite against Al-Ahli 3-1 in late April was the final straw. The most successful team in the history of Asian football was just 90 minutes away from the final and a real chance of a fifth title, but in the end, the defeat was deserved.

It comes after an uncertain period in which Al-Hilal have not looked like their usual selves. In November came a first-league defeat in 18 months, a surprise 3-2 loss to Al-Khaleej. It was even more of a surprise given that the defending champions were 2-0 ahead at the break before throwing it all away in the second-half.

Well, even Al-Hilal have to lose sometime. The next five league games brought the maximum 15 points, 23 goals, and title number 20 still looked to be on the cards, but the loss had changed something. Al-Hilal were vulnerable, after all. In the following 13 league games, there were four defeats — including a painful Riyadh Derby loss to Nassr and a 4-1 loss to Ittihad — and four draws. Given Al-Hilal’s high standards, it was a shock. It was also a gift to Al-Ittihad, who were able to take control of the title race.

Not winning the domestic title is always dangerous for a coach of Al-Hilal. Add an exit from Asian competition, then it really is time to worry. Leonardo Jardim was fired early in 2022, just a few weeks after winning the club’s fourth Champions League.

“Things didn’t go the way I planned, and when the result is negative, we look for a victim,” said Jesus just before the end. “I am the one who bears responsibility. I am the one who builds the team and sets the match plans, and I am responsible as the coach.”

Everything comes from results, and the change from a winning machine to a team that was then struggling to put wins together meant that off the pitch, pressures grew. The 70-year-old has come under attack with increasing regularity from ex-players and/or pundits, which is never a good sign. There had also been rumors for a few months that some players had grown unhappy with the methods and that there was tension between the boss and some senior and influential players.

As Al-Hilal started to lose the big games, tactics and in-game management were questioned. In the 7-0 thrashing of Gwangju FC in the Champions League quarter-finals, Hilal looked solid at the back and devastating in attack. Yet against Al-Ahli a few days later, Hassan Tambakti, who looked imperious in defense, was benched and in came Ali Al-Bulaihi, who did not have one of his best games. The Jeddah club were finding a lot of space between the lines and causing all kinds of problems but the Portuguese boss did not react quickly enough and by the time he started to do so, Kalidou Koulibaly was red-carded and a tough situation became almost impossible.

And there was some disquiet about the public linking of Jesus with the Brazil job. In some ways, this helped his position, initially at least. How could Al-Hilal think about firing a coach twho was being linked with the most successful national team in the world? But the longer it went on, it started to become a bigger story. Carlo Ancelotti was always the front-runner but Real Madrid started to become annoyed at how Brazil were going about trying to get their man; the Al-Hilal hierarchy took note of their man being in the news. The Brazilian media has said that Jesus wanted the job and was upset at being the second choice.

It all meant that, with the season petering out at home and overseas, it was not a surprise that Hilal wanted a change. The FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament that Al-Hilal take very seriously, is looming, especially the opener against Real Madrid. Having a new man in charge sooner rather than later makes sense for that competition and also for the next season. Expect a big name.