The recent period has seen intense monitoring by the technical staff, led by Romanian coach Olarie Cosmin, of local club matches across various competitions to assess player levels and select the most ready elements to join the national team. The technical staff aims, during the upcoming camps, to address the errors and negatives that accompanied the national team's journey in the recent past, which led to failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, despite being close to reaching the finals after securing more than one chance to secure a spot. The next phase is expected to witness intense coordination between the administrative and technical staff to provide all necessary requirements for the success of the preparation program, especially regarding participation in the «Gulf 27». It is also expected that the new squad will include a number of players for the first time, while retaining most of the elements who participated in the recent events, most notably the 2025 Arab Cup held in Doha, where the «White» team finished third alongside the Saudi team after the third-place playoff match was canceled due to rain. Upcoming fixtures for the national team: • The Arab Gulf Cup «Gulf 27», scheduled in Saudi Arabia from September 23 to October 6 of this year. • The Asian Cup, scheduled in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5, 2027. • The next camp will be in Abu Dhabi from March 23 to 30 of this year, aiming to achieve maximum technical benefit from the period of local activity suspension. The technical staff had put in place a comprehensive preparation program including external and internal camps, in addition to friendly matches, to ensure the best possible readiness for the upcoming phase. «Al-Ittihad» learned that the technical staff of the UAE national football team has decided to hold a short preparation camp in Abu Dhabi during the upcoming international break (FIFA days) in March of this year, aiming to achieve maximum technical benefit from the period of local activity suspension, especially the Professional League. The camp will be followed by two friendly matches, the first against Armenia, while the second is expected against the Comoros Islands, with the camp to be held from March 23 to 30 of this year. This move comes within the framework of the team's preparations for the upcoming events, foremost of which is the Arab Gulf Cup «Gulf 27», scheduled in Saudi Arabia from September 23 to October 6 of this year, in addition to participating in the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5, 2027.
