Zlatko Dalić led the United Arab Emirates to the final of the Gulf Cup, where his side lost to Saudi Arabia. It was the first time the UAE had reached the final of the tournament since 2018, when they lost to Oman on penalties. The UAE had last won the tournament in 2013, when they hosted the event.
Dalić took charge of the UAE in August, following nine years at the helm of Croatia. He had previously worked as the coach of Al Ain from 2014 to 2017, and after the final stated that he had lived in the country for a long time and that he always felt the people's love and support. He added that he wanted to win the tournament and bring joy to the fans.
The Gulf Cup, officially known as the Arabian Gulf Cup, is a regional football competition for the countries of the Persian Gulf. Launched in 1970, it currently features eight member representatives of the Gulf Football Union: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, and Yemen. It is played every two years.
Dali had previously commented on Croatia's play under Slaven Bilić. He stated that Croatia played against the first and third in the world, and that those teams were currently better than Croatia. He recalled that Croatia had won three world medals and that they had shown on the World Cup against Portugal that they could and could. He said that a match against England happened simply, as did the 6-0 defeat in Elche.
Dali stated that he had not spoken with Slaven Bilić. On the position of the Croatian national team, he said that Croatia had its place in the world among the ten to fifteen best national teams, and that anything above that was a miracle. Croatia had previously lost three matches in a row in the League of Nations.
