United Arab Emirates national under-23 football team

United Arab Emirates U-23

Nickname	Al Abyad
Association	UAEFA
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Sub-confederation	WAFF (West Asia)
Head coach	Vacant
Home stadium	Various
FIFA code	UAE
First colours Second colours
First international
United Arab Emirates 1–0 Pakistan  (South Korea; 21 September 1986)
Biggest win
United Arab Emirates 13–0  Guam (Abu Dhabi; 3 September 2025)
Biggest defeat
United Arab Emirates 0–5 Kuwait  (Thailand; 7 December 1998)

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.

United Arab Emirates  v  Thailand

19 March Doha Cup	United Arab Emirates	1–0	Thailand	Doha, Qatar
21:15 UTC+3	Saeed 80' (pen.)

United Arab Emirates  v  Australia

22 March 2025 Doha International U-23 Cup	United Arab Emirates	0–0	Australia	Al Khor, Qatar
20:30 UTC+3		Report		Stadium: Al-Khor Stadium

Thailand  v  United Arab Emirates

10 June Friendly	Thailand	1–2	United Arab Emirates	Pathum Thani, Thailand
18:00 UTC+7				Stadium: Thammasat Stadium

United Arab Emirates  v  Hong Kong

7 June Friendly	United Arab Emirates	5–0	Hong Kong	Pathum Thani, Thailand
16:00 UTC+7				Stadium: Thammasat Stadium

United Arab Emirates  v  Guam

3 September 2026 AFC U-23 ACQ	United Arab Emirates	13–0	Guam	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
21:30 UTC+4	Ndiaye 5' Al-Marzooqi 16' Maqdami 17', 43', 55', 76' Sosu 31' Al-Mansoori 34', 45+2' Yadoo 38' Al-Menhali 44' Al-Maazmi 62' Al-Harasi 88'	Report		Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 271 Referee: Muath Owfi (Palestine)

Hong Kong  v  United Arab Emirates

6 September 2026 AFC U-23 ACQ	Hong Kong	0–2	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
21:30 UTC+4		Report	Ndiaye 58' Al-Memari 81'	Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 254 Referee: Hussein Abo Yehia (Lebanon)

United Arab Emirates  v  Iran

9 September 2026 AFC U-23 ACQ	United Arab Emirates	2–3	Iran	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
17:30 UTC+4	Al-Kass 45+4' Al-Mansoori 72'	Report	Razzaghinia 25' Saharkhizan 36', 42' (pen.)	Stadium: Al Nahyan Stadium Attendance: 467 Referee: Zaid Thamer Mohammed (Iraq)

Position	Name
Head coach	Vacant
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 Baroon
Team Manager	Esam Al-Ali
Performance Analyst	Joan Armengol

The following players were called up for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup between 15 April and 3 May 2024.^[1]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	1GK	Rakan Al-Menhali	(2001-03-27)27 March 2001 (aged 23)	Al Jazira
2	2DF	Mohammed Al-Maazmi	(2001-01-16)16 January 2001 (aged 23)	Hatta
3	2DF	Mayed Al-Teneiji	(2002-06-21)21 June 2002 (aged 21)	Al Nasr
4	3MF	Ahmed Al-Hammadi	(2001-01-06)6 January 2001 (aged 23)	Al Jazira
5	2DF	Khamis Al-Mansoori	(2004-01-15)15 January 2004 (aged 20)	Baniyas
6	3MF	Ali Abdulaziz	(2003-07-16)16 July 2003 (aged 20)	Al Nasr
7	4FW	Harib Abdalla	(2002-11-26)26 November 2002 (aged 21)	Shabab Al Ahli
8	3MF	Sultan Al Bedwawi	(2001-10-06)6 October 2001 (aged 22)	Hatta
9	4FW	Mohamed Ibrahim	(2002-12-15)15 December 2002 (aged 21)	Ittihad Kalba
10	4FW	Abdulla Abdelaziz	(2002-06-10)10 June 2002 (aged 21)	Ajman
11	4FW	Yaser Al-Blooshi	(2001-01-06)6 January 2001 (aged 23)	Ittihad Kalba
12	3MF	Abdulla Hamad	(2001-09-18)18 September 2001 (aged 22)	Al Wahda
13	2DF	Abdulla Al-Balooshi	(2001-01-01)1 January 2001 (aged 23)	Al Nasr
14	2DF	Mohammad Atiq	(2001-03-02)2 March 2001 (aged 23)	Shabab Al Ahli
15	4FW	Abdulla Ahmed	(2004-06-13)13 June 2004 (aged 19)	Al Wahda
16	4FW	Ahmed Fawzi	(2001-11-26)26 November 2001 (aged 22)	Al Jazira
17	1GK	Hamad Al-Meqbaali	(2003-07-13)13 July 2003 (aged 20)	Shabab Al Ahli
18	2DF	Mubarak Zamah	(2003-11-29)29 November 2003 (aged 20)	Al Jazira
19	4FW	Abdullah Al-Hammadi	(2003-03-20)20 March 2003 (aged 21)	Al Dhafra
20	4FW	Fahad Badr	(2001-03-09)9 March 2001 (aged 23)	Emirates
21	4FW	Sultan Adil	(2004-05-04)4 May 2004 (aged 19)	Ittihad Kalba
22	1GK	Khaled Tawhid	(2004-02-16)16 February 2004 (aged 20)	Sharjah
23	2DF	Zayed Sultan	(2001-04-11)11 April 2001 (aged 23)	Al Jazira

Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1992	did not qualify
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012	Group stage	15th	3	0	1	2	3	6
2016	did not qualify
2020
2024
2028	TBD
2032
Total	Group Stage	15th	3	0	1	2	3	6

List of Olympic matches
2012	Group Stage	Uruguay	1–2	Loss	0–0–1
	Group Stage	Great Britain	1–3	Loss	0–0–2
	Group Stage	Senegal	1–1	Draw	0–1–2

Final										Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2013	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	2	1	2	2		5	3	2	0	8	4
2016		5th	4	2	1	1	5	5		3	3	0	0	8	0
2018	did not qualify									3	2	0	1	6	2
2020	Quarter-finals	6th	4	1	2	1	4	6		3	2	1	0	10	2
2022	Group stage	11th	3	1	0	2	3	4		3	2	0	1	4	2
2024		15th	3	0	0	3	1	5		2	1	1	0	3	0
2026	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	5	7		3	2	0	1	17	3
Total	Quarter-finals	5th	22	6	6	10	20	29		22	15	4	3	56	13

List of AFC U-23 Asian Cup matches
2013	Group Stage	Syria	1–1	Draw	0–1–0
		Yemen	1–0	Win	1–1–0
		North Korea	0–0	Draw	1–2–0
	Quarter-final	Jordan	0–1	Loss	1–2–1
2016	Group Stage	Australia	1–0	Win	2–2–1
		Jordan	0–0	Draw	2–3–1
		Vietnam	3–2	Win	3–3–1
	Quarter-final	Iraq	1–3 (a.e.t.)	Loss	3–3–2
2020	Group Stage	Vietnam	0–0	Draw	3–4–2
		North Korea	2–0	Win	4–4–2
		Jordan	1–1	Draw	4–5–2
	Quarter-final	Uzbekistan	1–5	Loss	4–5–3
2022	Group Stage	Japan	1–2	Loss	4–5–4
		Tajikistan	2–0	Win	5–5–4
		Saudi Arabia	0–2	Loss	5–5–5
2024	Group Stage	South Korea	0–1	Loss	5–5–6
		Japan	0–2	Loss	5–5–7
		China	1–2	Loss	5–5–8
2026	Group Stage	Qatar	2–0	Win	6–5–8
		Japan	0–3	Loss	6–5–9
		Syria	1–1	Draw	6–6–9
	Quarter-final	Vietnam	2–3 (a.e.t.)	Loss	6–6–10

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
2002	Group stage	3	1	1	1	3	4
2006		3	0	1	2	3	7
2010	Silver	7	4	2	1	9	2
2014	Quarter-finals	4	2	0	2	8	3
2018	Bronze	7	1	3	3	9	9
2022	TBD
Total	Runner-ups	24	8	7	9	32	25

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
2008	did not enter
2010	Champions	4	3	1	0	6	2
2011	Runners-up	4	2	1	1	9	4

Year	Round	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
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	3
Total	Group stage	10	2	1	7	10	16

• United Arab Emirates national football team
• United Arab Emirates national under-20 football team
• United Arab Emirates national under-17 football team

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

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Great Britain	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Senegal	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Uruguay	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Total	3	0	1	2	3	6	−3	000.00

Opponent	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Australia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
China	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1	000.00
Iraq	1	0	0	1	1	3	−2	000.00
Japan	2	0	0	2	1	4	−3	000.00
Jordan	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	000.00
North Korea	2	1	1	0	2	0	+2	050.00
Saudi Arabia	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	000.00
South Korea	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	000.00
Syria	1	0	1	0	1	1	+0	000.00
Tajikistan	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	100.00
Uzbekistan	1	0	0	1	1	5	−4	000.00
Vietnam	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	050.00
Yemen	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Total	18	5	5	8	15	22	−7	027.78