Buoyant UAE look to seal World Cup spot with victory over Qatar

The UAE will be brimming with confidence when they face Qatar in their AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26 Playoffs Group A tie on Tuesday.

The Emiratis staged a late fightback to overcome Oman 2-1 on Saturday to lead the Group A standings and only need to avoid defeat at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium to secure automatic qualification.

Cosmin Olaroiu’s second-half adjustments proved decisive, with substitutes Caio Canedo, Yahia Nader and Harib Abdalla making an immediate impact to spark the turnaround against Oman and the Romanian tactician can be expected to tinker with his starting lineup for the Qatar clash.

While Olaroiu was not in charge at that time, he will be determined to replicate UAE’s results in the previous stage against Qatar – a 3-1 victory followed by an emphatic 5-0 win – as UAE seek to seal a return to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1990.

Marcos Meloni and Caio Lucas delivered the goals for the Emiratis against Oman while Ali Saleh, Nicolas Gimenez and Fabio Lima were influential throughout and Olaroiu’s side will fancy their chances despite Qatar having home ground advantage.

Qatar, sitting second ahead of Oman on goal difference, head into the contest knowing only victory will see them advance to next year’s tournament while a draw would mean having to navigate the playoff against the Group B runners-up for one final chance of qualifying for the global showpiece.

While they produced an underwhelming performance in the goalless draw with Oman, the two-time AFC Asian Cup champions are not short on star quality but will need Akram Afif and Almoez Ali to lead from the start against a tough UAE.

Julen Lopetegui’s side will also be well rested, having played Oman last Wednesday, and with FIFA World Cup qualification just one match away, Qatar will be determined to not slip up.

Saudi Arabia meet Iraq: The stage is set for a grand battle between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in playoffs Group B tie.

It’s a winners-take-all match with the victors booking their place at the FIFA World Cup 2026 while the beaten side will advance to a playoff against the Group A runners-up, with the winners to bid for one final chance in the FIFA Playoff Tournament.

Both achieved wins against Indonesia with Saudi Arabia’s 3-2 success giving them a slight advantage over Iraq - who picked up a 1-0 win - with the group hosts needing only a draw to take the automatic berth.

Herve Renard’s side have had better recovery time, having played on Wednesday but the Frenchman will be without midfielder Mohamed Kanno who was sent off in stoppage time against Indonesia.

Renard’s faith in the dynamic 23-year-old Saleh Alshamat - who only had three international caps prior to the Indonesia match - paid off handsomely with the Al Ahli Saudi FC forward netting the equaliser against Indonesia. Feras Albrikan is also in good form, having bagged a brace.

It is the defence, however, that is a cause of concern for the French tactician with Indonesia registering 17 shots, 10 of which were on target with Renard urging his players to keep their concentration for this crucial encounter.

“What we did before, it’s nothing up to now because if we don’t achieve our goal tomorrow you won’t remember the game against Indonesia, the game we played in Bahrain so the most important is tomorrow,” said Renard.

“I’m lucky because I have some players with experience like Saleh Al Shehri, Salem Al Dawsari our captain, now Hassan Al Tambakti is getting more experience.

“I always tell them to stay focused, it’s not always easy with the Saudi players but the most important is when they are listening, so we prepare for this game very quietly. We are concentrated on our goal and we don’t have to do something else, just focus on us. This is the most important.”

Head coach Graham Arnold is charting an appearance on the global stage for just the second time for Iraq.

Iraq only failed to score in three of the 16 matches since Round 2 of the Qualifiers but the availability of topscorer Aymen Hussein remains in doubt after the forward wasn’t in the matchday squad on Saturday.

Like his counterpart Renard, Arnold will also have to contend with a suspension with centre-back Zaid Tahseen unavailable following his red card in the closing minutes of the tie against Indonesia but the Australian tactician believes that his Iraq side will be heading into the match under less pressure than their rivals.