United Arab Emirates national under-23 football team

The United Arab Emirates national under-23 football team represents United Arab Emirates in association football and is administered by the United Arab Emirates Football Association.

Recent fixtures 2026

Current staff

Position Name Head coach Igor Bišćan Assistant coach Marcelo Maseda Sulaiman Haji Alblooshi Goalkeeping coach Yousef Almansoori Fitness coach Tiago Jose Gonçalves Mauricio Leon Scouting Matar Aldhaheri Team administrator Salim Al Yaqoubi Doctor Abdulla BaroonTeam Manager Esam Al-AliPerformance Analyst Joan Armengol

Players Current squad The following 23 players were called up for the football tournament at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, under head coach Igor Bišćan.

Overage players in Olympic football TournamentPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Ali Khasif (GK)Ismail Al Hammadi (MF)Ismail Matar (FW)Bader Nasser (DF)Mackenzie Hunt (MF)Yahya Al Ghassani (FW)

Tournament records Olympic Games YearRoundPosition 1992did not qualify 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012Group stage 15th 301236 2016did not qualify 2020 2024 2028TBD 2032TotalGroup Stage15th301236

Matches List of Olympic matches2012Group Stage1–2Loss0–0–1Group Stage1–3Loss0–0–2Group Stage1–1Draw0–1–2

AFC U-23 Asian Cup FinalQualificationYearRoundPosition 2013Quarter-finals8th412122532084 20165th421155330080 2018did not qualify320162 2020Quarter-finals6th4121463210102 2022Group stage11th310234320142 202415th300315211030 2026 Quarter-finals8th4112573201173 2028To be determinedTo be determinedTotalQuarter-finals5th22661020292215435613

Matches List of AFC U-23 Asian Cup matches2013Group Stage1–1Draw0–1–01–0Win1–1–00–0Draw1–2–0Quarter-final0–1Loss1–2–12016Group Stage1–0Win2–2–10–0Draw2–3–13–2Win3–3–1Quarter-final1–3 Loss3–3–22020Group Stage0–0Draw3–4–22–0Win4–4–21–1Draw4–5–2Quarter-final1–5Loss4–5–32022Group Stage1–2Loss4–5–42–0Win5–5–40–2Loss5–5–52024Group Stage0–1Loss5–5–60–2Loss5–5–71–2Loss5–5–82026Group Stage2–0Win6–5–80–3Loss6–5–91–1Draw6–6–9Quarter-final2–3 Loss6–6–10

Asian Games YearRoundGPWDLGFGA 2002 Group stage 3 1 1 1 3 4 2006 3 0 1 2 3 7 2010 7 4 2 1 9 2 2014Quarter-finals 4 2 0 2 8 3 2018 7 1 3 3 9 9 2026Group stage 3 0 2 1 1 3TotalRunner-ups2789103328

GCC Championship YearRoundGPWDLGFGA 2008 did not enter 2010Champions 4 3 1 0 6 2 2011Runners-up 4 2 1 1 9 4

WAFF Championship YearRoundGPWDLGFGA 2015 Group stage 2 1 0 1 5 5 2021 3 1 0 2 3 3 2022 Did not participate 2023 Group stage 2 0 0 2 1 5 2024 3 0 1 2 1 3Total Group stage 10 2 1 7 10 16

References

See also United Arab Emirates national football team United Arab Emirates national under-20 football team United Arab Emirates national under-17 football team

Head-to-head record The following table shows United Arab Emirates' head-to-head record in the Football at the Summer Olympics and AFC U-23 Asian Cup. In Football at the Summer Olympics OpponentWin % Total In AFC U-23 Asian Cup OpponentWin %Total In Football at the Asian Games OpponentWin %Total