Article by Mihai Șovei – Published Saturday, December 13, 2025, 09:48 / Updated Saturday, December 13, 2025 09:48
The United Arab Emirates, national team coached by Cosmin Olăroiu (56 years old), qualified for the semi-finals of the Arab Cup, after a dramatic match against Algeria.
The game was played on Friday, and after 120 minutes the score was 1-1. The United Arab Emirates prevailed 7-6 on penalties and qualified for the semi-finals of the competition, where they will play Morocco.
Cosmin Olăroiu: “Luck has turned its face towards us!”
The national team led by Cosmin Olăroiu produced one of the biggest surprises since the Arab Cup. Although in the main group he had modest results and finished in 2nd place, the Romanian national team managed to eliminate Algeria in the quarters, one of the favorite teams to win the trophy.
The Algerians dominated the entire game, but it wasn't enough to qualify, being eliminated on penalties.
At the end of the game, Cosmin Olăroiu spoke about the performance achieved by his national team.
“This qualification is the credit of the players! I am very happy for my players. I want to congratulate them and I hope we can continue like this. I am not surprised at all that we reached the semi-finals. And when we lost, in the first stage of the group stage, against Jordan, we played well, although we ended the match in ten. I hope we go all the way in this tournament.
We tried to play as organized as possible. We tried to take advantage of our chances. After a very long time, luck turned its face towards us! Because I've been very unlucky lately. A difficult match awaits us in the semi-finals with Morocco. But that's the situation. We will try our best until the end. We will give our best until our last match here”, said Cosmin Olăroiu at the end of the game, according to sport.ro.
The match between United Arab Emirates and Morocco will take place on December 15. If it reaches the final, the national team led by Cosmin Olăroiu will play against Saudi Arabia or Jordan.
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It is worth noting that both Algeria and Morocco are qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup.
Although he missed the qualification for the World Cup, the Football Federation of the United Arab Emirates decided that the Romanian should remain on the bench of the national team.
The table of the final phase of the Arab Cup / photo: flashscore
