UAE names Croatia's Zlatko Dalic as new national football coach

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UAE names Croatia’s Zlatko Dalic as new national football coach

August 13, 2026

DUBAI,— The United Arab Emirates football association named Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic as head coach of the national team, the UAEFA said on Wednesday.

Dalic, 59, stepped down as Croatia’s coach in July after the team’s World Cup run ended in the round of 32 with a 2-1 loss to Portugal.

“Welcome, Zlatko Dalic. The UAE Football Association is pleased to announce the appointment of the Croatian as the new Head Coach of the UAE National Team,” the UAEFA wrote on X.

The move brings Dalic back to the UAE, where he once coached Al Ain to the domestic league title in 2015. He takes over from Romanian coach Cosmin Olaroiu.

Dalic spent nine years leading Croatia, guiding the team to the 2018 World Cup final, a third-place finish at the 2022 World Cup, and the final of the 2023 Nations League.

Under the new coach, the UAE will compete in Group E of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, facing South Korea, Vietnam, and Yemen.

The UAE’s hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup ended after a loss to Iraq in November 2025.

Dalic was born on October 26, 1966, in Livno, a town in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Before moving into coaching, he played as a defensive midfielder for several Croatian clubs, including Hajduk Split.

He later built his coaching career with stints in the Middle East before taking charge of Croatia’s national team in 2017, a role that made him one of the country’s most recognized football figures.

(With files from Reuters)