UAE Parts Ways with van Marwijk
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The UAE Football Association announced on Saturday the departure of men’s national team head coach Bert van Marwijk and the technical team.
The 69-year-old Dutchman was shown the door with two matches remaining for UAE in the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar. The West Asian side is third in Group A with Iran and Korea Republic having already booked their places to the Finals.
“The decision came following a recommendation from the committee for the national teams and technical affairs,” read a statement from the UAE FA. “A new head coach will be announced in the next few days.”
After a slow start in the AFC Asian Qualifiers that saw the team garner three points from its first five matches, UAE claimed consecutive victories against Lebanon and Syria to climb to third in the group.
The UAE will take on Iraq on March 24 before hosting Korea Republic five days later.
A third-place finish will see it advance to a playoff against the third-placed side from Group B, with the winner to play in the Inter-Confederation playoff for a spot in Qatar 2022.
