Short answers, pulled from the story.
The United Arab Emirates national football team played its inaugural match on the 17th of March 1972 against Qatar at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium. Ahmed Chowbi scored the only goal to secure a narrow victory for his new nation.
The United Arab Emirates national football team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup once in their history during the 1990 tournament held in Italy. They lost all three group stage games and finished fourth overall with no points earned from any match.
On the 5th of September 2024 UAE defeated Qatar 3, 1 in Doha while later winning 5, 0 in Abu Dhabi on the 19th of November 2024. Fabio Lima scored four goals in that historic victory marking their largest win over Qatar ever recorded.
Sebastián Tagliabúe Fábio Virginio de Lima and Caio Canedo Corrêa received Emirati citizenship in early 2020 becoming high-profile cases of naturalized players. By March 2025 the national team had included twelve naturalized players in its squad.
Cosmin Olăroiu became head coach as of April 2025 following periods of instability. Three different coaches managed the team between 2004 and 2025 highlighting a pattern of frequent turnover affecting consistency.