The UAE national football team, led by Romanian coach Olaru Cosmin, has developed a comprehensive plan for the upcoming phase, especially for participating in the 27th Gulf Cup, scheduled to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from September 23 to October 6, 2026. The program includes an internal training camp in next March, featuring two friendly matches, along with two other camps in June and July this year. It is worth noting that the team also has an important commitment in the final stages of the 2027 Asian Cup. The upcoming March camp will be the team's first gathering since their last participation in the 2025 Arab Cup in Doha, where they finished third, sharing the position with the Saudi Arabian team. Recall that the UAE team failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, although they were close to achieving this dream. Since the end of the Arab Cup in Doha, the team has been on a long break due to the absence of any upcoming matches, but the players are currently with their clubs in both local and external competitions. This has given Cosmin, who took over the team in April of this year, coming from Al-Sharjah club on a contract until 2027, the opportunity to work on building a strong team for the next phase by addressing the weaknesses and problems that led to the team's failure to qualify for the World Cup. Despite having a large number of top players from the UAE league in its ranks, the team could not achieve success. The technical staff of the team, led by Romanian coach Olaru Cosmin, has conducted a comprehensive technical evaluation of the team's performance in the past period to identify strong points to enhance them, as well as negative aspects that need to be addressed to avoid their repetition in the future. On another front, it was learned that young Al-Ahli players, Joelherm da Silva Palla and Yuri Cesar (25 years old), will appear with the national team for the first time in upcoming tournaments, as each has met the legal requirements that allow them to wear the 'white' jersey. Palla and Yuri are influential elements in the Al-Ahli team. Yuri (25), who plays in midfield, played 11 matches in the Al-Ahli starting lineup in the ADNOC Professional League, scoring four goals and providing one assist, with his total playing time reaching 840 minutes. Meanwhile, Palla (24), who also plays in the center of the field, played 11 matches in the league's starting lineup, with his total playing time reaching 965 minutes, during which he scored four goals and provided one assist. The presence of Palla and Yuri with the national team in the upcoming period will be a great addition to the squad. It is worth noting that Cosmin and his coaching staff are keen to attend local competition matches, especially the ADNOC Professional League, to closely monitor the players' levels and select the most suitable elements to represent the national team in the upcoming period.
