Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Aletihad)
The draw for the third and final round of the Asian qualifying path to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been made with the UAE placed in Group A along with regional powerhouses Iran and Qatar. The group also includes Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and North Korea.
Eighteen countries were divided into three groups, with two teams from each group taking up six out of eight spots reserved for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The remaining two spots will be decided through the Asian play-offs. Additionally, there is a possibility of securing one more spot through the global play-off.
On Thursday, the draw was made at the AFC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the UAE managing to avoid the perceived ‘Group of Death’ in the third pool.
The Group C lineup reads Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, China, Bahrain and Indonesia. The second group included the Republic of Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait, the latter making the cut on the back of a controversial result between India and Qatar. The Indian federation has lodged an appeal with the AFC.
Meanwhile, the national coach, Paulo Bento, opted to look at the pros and cons of the draw on Thursday. “It’ll be tough and difficult for us due to the quality of the opponents,” the Portuguese told the-afc.com. “Logistically, it’s not a bad one for us. This is important because sometimes our players are not used to travelling a lot, and we don’t need any adaptations.”
After the UAE had topped their group in the second round with five wins and a draw ahead of Bahrain, the Portuguese manager had indicated at the areas where there was scope for improvement.
“We should realise how good we are and how weak we are, at the same time, and be humble,” the manager said earlier this month. “We should take into consideration many, many aspects and the context, and the context that we’re going to find in the future.
“In order to improve, in order to know more things about the game in the tactical way, and the mental aspect in the next stage, will be very, very important,” Bento said. “I already talked about that: long trips, jet lag, and the other teams used to that more often.”
Tim Cahill, the technical director for Qatar, also looked at regional travel as a small advantage and spoke in a similar vein to the AFC website.
“We always have to believe there is a chance. Now we know who we are going to play, and what it comes down to is the preparation, logistics, and making sure the squad is ready mentally and physically. This is a different stage for us, and it will involve travelling and visiting many countries. It will be difficult, but we have to play.”
Iran will be one of the most experienced sides in the group, having played at six world cups in the past. “If you look at our group, it’s not easy, we have UAE and Qatar, but if you look at our results from the previous round, it gives us confidence to qualify,” said Amir Ghalenoei, the manager.
The final round of qualifiers will be held from September 6 to June 10 next year. The UAE kick-off against Qatar in Doha on September 5. There will be two home matches next – Iran on September 10 and North Korea on October 10 – followed by two away against Uzbekistan (October 15) and Kyrgyzstan (November 14).
The second leg starts on November 19 with the home leg against Qatar, followed by trips to Iran (March 20) and North Korea (March 25), and in the home stretch figuratively and literally to Uzbekistan (June 5) and Kyrgyzstan (June 10).
