DUBAI: The UAE have laid down a marker in the early days of the 2026 Arabian Gulf Cup with a thumping 4-0 win over Yemen on Thursday night at Al-Inma Stadium in Jeddah.

The comprehensive nature of the Group B win by the Emirati team marks them out as genuine contenders for the title a day after Group A’s fixtures had resulted in 1-1 draw between Iraq and Oman and a tight 1-0 win for hosts Saudi Arabia over Kuwait.

The UAE, under former Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, took the lead on 26 minutes when a fine move saw Nicolas Gimenez receive Bruno Conceicao’s pass inside the penalty before turning sharply onto his left foot and finishing into the roof of the Yemeni net.

After 36 minutes, Yemen found themselves two goals behind when Nader Sahal deflected a low Marcus Meloni cross past Mohammed Aman for an own goal. The goalkeeper had no chance, and things were about get even worse.

The UAE concluded a near-perfect first half with a stunning passing move that ended with Luanzinho calmly sliding in a third from Ala Zouhir’s precise cross in the 43rd minute. The match as contest was over and it remained to be seen just how keen the Emiratis would be to add to their tally in the second half.

Very keen, as it turned out. Only six minutes after the restart, Dalic’s men extended their lead with Nicolas Gimenez heading the UAE’s fourth from Meloni’s cross.

With the points safely in the bag, Dalic replaced Himenez, Luanzinho and Conceicao with Fabio Lima, Ali Saleh and Ousmane Camara respectively just after the hour mark.

The final whistle brought to an end what was comfortably the best performance of the Gulf Cup after three matches, with Thursday’s other Group B match between Qatar and Bahrain yet to be played.