'Similar to South Korea's win over Portugal in 2022 World Cup' - Paulo Bento on guiding UAE to a win over Qatar in 2026 World Cup qualifiers

The UAE defeated Qatar 3-1 in their opening match of the third round of AFC 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Thrusday at Doha.

In the match held at Ahmad Bin Ali stadium in Doha, UAE managed to overturn a half-time deficit to notch three crucial points in their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Qatar opened the scoring through Ibrahim Al Hassan in the 38th minute before UAE replied in the second half. Harib Abdalla equalised for UAE in the 68th minute before full-back Khaled Aldhanhani made it 2-1 in the 80th minute.

Substitute Ali Saleh then made it 3-1 late on to complete a famous win over the Asian champions.

UAE head coach Paulo Bento felt that the win was similar to another win he masterminded in Qatar. In the 2022 World Cup, Bento was the coach of South Korea.

The Koreans had a great tournament, reaching the knockout stages from a group that included the likes of Portugal, Ghana and Uruguay.

The key result in that group for Korea was a 2-1 win over Portugal which helped them go through to the Round of 16.

Korea were trailing in that game as well before turning the result on its head and Bento felt that it was very similar to what his UAE side did on Thursday.

After the match, Bento said: "To be honest, the most important thing in football are the players. What we tried to do is bring them the best tools to help them understand the game in the proper way and help them follow the best strategy. This comes from the technical staff and not just me, the coach.

"We tried to change certain things due to the result because we were losing in the first half. We tried to change the way to press the opponent. It is important that they understand. The game against Portugal is similar to this game. We were 1-1 at half-time in that game," he added.

"We are not geniuses when we turn around a result like that. We are not failures when we lose the game either. We are simple people who try to win in football. We try to bring the players the best possible tools to win a game," Bento professed.

The 55-year-old Bento left his role South Korea manager post the 2022 World Cup and took charge of UAE in July 2023.

He has had a great record as UAE manager, leading them to 11 wins in 16 games as manager, with an impressive win percentage of 68.75%.

UAE next face Iran in Group A of the third round of AFC 2026 World Cup qualifiers, knowing that another win will be the perfect boost to their victory over Qatar.

The Asian champions, meanwhile, will hope to bounce back when they take on North Korea next in Laos.