Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
The UAE will have to pull up their socks against Qatar and hit the ground running when their campaign in the third and final Asian qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup begins on Thursday.
If the form book is to be considered, both teams have identically ended up with five wins and a draw from six matches heading into this clash at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan. However, Paulo Bento’s side are at disadvantage and not least because Qatar have the home advantage when action kicks off at 8pm UAE time.
Both qualified to this round with two matches to spare. Yet, Qatar are reigning Asian Cup champions and are also keen to qualify on merit to the World Cup, after playing in it as hosts in 2022. They are currently on a 11-match run of victories.
At the back of the mind of the UAE squad will also be the fact that they are yet to taste victory against their neighbours since 2015. And so Bento is seeking an X-factor going into clash with a 28-member squad while also looking for the heft of experience at the final hurdle. UAE came very close to qualifying for Qatar 2022 but fell short against the experienced Australians in the Asian play-off.
With 33 matches played between them, Qatar has the slight edge, leading UAE 14-10, with nine draws.
If the UAE camp had a confident on arrival in Doha on Tuesday, that would be cause their surprise element comprises three names in Bento’s big squad which are turning heads. Mackenzie Hunt, Kouame Autonne and Junior Ndiaye, have got UAE passports having played in their main formative years in England, Ivory Coast and France respectively.
“We must play at a good and organized level and with a high fighting spirit, in order to win the first round match of the third stage of the qualifiers,” Bento said. “Good organisation and discipline are our weapons against all competitors, starting with the match against the Qatar national team.”
With Bento optimistic of a strong defence to back his organisation claim, there is a strong possibility that Autonne may make his bow straightaway.
In the attack, Sultan Adel is unavailable as the foil to the reliable Caio Canedo, thus opening the chances for the Montpellier forward Ndiaye also to figure in the match.
Both Hunt and Ndiaye spent their early childhood in Dubai but have been plying their wares in Europe and will still need time to acclimatise to the weather conditions.
Qatar’s key players Akram Afif and Almoez Ali are expected to be back in action refreshed, after head coach Marquez Lopez chose to rest several stars during their final two second-round fixtures against Afghanistan and India.
Ali topped the scoring charts with seven goals alongside Korea Republic’s Heung-min Son in the second round, while Afif won the AFC Asian Cup Golden Boot.
UAE are drawn with Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea in their group, where the top two teams qualify directly. The third and fourth-placed teams in the three groups advance to a fourth stage where two World Cup slots are available, while the remaining teams advance to the Asian play-off to compete for half a seat in the fifth stage of qualifying.
