Dalic Selected UAE Squad

Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic has named a 26-player squad for the UAE national team to compete in Gulf Cup 27, scheduled to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from September 23 to October 6. The UAE, champions of the 2007 and 2013 editions, will play in Group 2 alongside Qatar, Bahrain, and Yemen.

Dalic, who finished as runner-up with Croatia at the 2018 World Cup and third place at the 2022 edition, assumed his role as UAE head coach in August, replacing Romanian coach Cosmin Olăroiu. Consequently, his first squad announcement featured few surprises, retaining most of the players who participated in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The squad includes:

Goalkeepers: Khaled Issa (Al Ain), Hamad Al-Maqbali (Al Ahli Youth), and Fahad Al-Dhanhani (Bani Yas).

Defenders: Zayed Al-Amri (Al Nassr), Khalifa Al-Hammadi, Robin Felipe, and Marcus Meloni (Al Jazira), Alaa Din Zouhir and Lucas Benmatta (Al Wahda), Sasa Ivetkovic (Al Wasl), Eric Meneses (Al Ain), and Khaled Al-Dhanhani (Al Sharjah).

Midfielders: Luan Pereira and Harib Abdullah (Al Sharjah), Abdullah Hamad (Al Wahda), Mamadou Coulibaly (Al Jazira), Issam Fayez (Al Nassr), Fabio Lima and Nicolas Jimenez (Al Wasl).

Forwards: Bruno Oliveira (Al Jazira), Ali Saleh (Al Wasl), Yuri Cesar, Bala Guilherme, and Sultan Adel (Al Ahli Youth), Reptchard Aconor (Turkish club Gostibi), and Oumar Coumar (Al Sharjah).