UAE set for pivotal clash against Qatar in 2026 World Cup qualifying

Paulo Bento's side targeting a vital win in their bid to reach global finals for just second time in nation's history

Qatar's Ibrahim Mohammadi and Caio Canedo battle for the ball in UAE's 3-1 away win in September. AFP

The first half of the decisive round of the UAE’s World Cup qualifying campaign began with a whipped left-foot strike by Harib Abdullah, and ended in the exact same fashion.

The Shabab Al Ahli forward’s goal to cap the 3-0 win over Kyrgyzstan on Thursday night was a reminder of the thrilling way in which the national team started out in their bid to make it back to a first World Cup since 1990.

His effort in the Al Rayyan Stadium back in September started the UAE’s 3-1 comeback win over Qatar. It was that success against the back-to-back champions of Asia that infused the country with belief that qualification is possible.

In the meantime, the UAE have wandered off track, to the extent that their reverse fixture with Qatar feels like it is a must-win encounter if they are to take an automatic qualifying place.

The top two sides in the six-team group are assured a place at the main event, in North America in 2026. Iran are clear at the top, six points ahead of the UAE and Qatar, who are third and fourth respectively.

But Qatar’s dramatic late win over second-placed Uzbekistan on Thursday means both the Gulf sides are within striking distance of second place.

If the UAE can claim the scalp of Qatar for the second time, at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, they would go above the Uzbeks if the Central Asian side were to lose against North Korea.

Ifs, buts, and maybes are only a distraction, though, according to Paulo Bento. The UAE coach is demanding his side focus solely on the task at hand, given that it is a very sizeable one on its own.

“When you start thinking too much ahead, it can be a problem,” Bento said. “We should create solutions ourselves.

UAE 3-0 Kyrgyzstan – in pictures

“[Qatar] are a team with quality and experience, who won the last two Asian Cups, and played in the 2022 World Cup as well.

“They have a coach [Tintin Marquez] who knows the context and the football in the country really well. We know that it is an important game for both teams, and we know we can compete well against them.

“It is going to demand a lot of things from our side, in many aspects of the game – not just the technical and tactical ones, but also the mental aspects.”

Bento said that win in Doha counts for nothing now, other than to prove to his players that their visitors are beatable.

“We know the game will not be exactly the same,” said Bento, who expects Khalifa Al Hammadi, the centre back who was withdrawn early with injury against Kyrgyzstan, to be fit to start.

“We should take certain things from the game we played against them, as well as other aspects that they showed in their next games. Based on that, we have to prepare the best strategy.

“We should be humble, and recognise the other side is a very good team, with clear goals for this qualifier, but we should also be ambitious in order to reach a good result.

“The only way that we can do that is to be organised as a team, be focused on our tasks, and try to manage all the moments of the game as well as possible in order to get the three points.”

After that bright start in Doha, the UAE’s form dipped, most notably in a game against North Korea in Al Ain. That draw represented two lost points, and came against the backdrop of a lukewarm atmosphere at a two-thirds empty Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.

The national team tend to be at their best when they are feeding off fervent home support and right-back Khalid Al Dhanhani expects that to be the case against Qatar.

“For us it is more important because we are playing at home in front of our fans and in our country,” said Al Dhanhani, who scored a fine goal in that win in Qatar.

“We have to do our very best to achieve a win in this match. I believe with the players' qualities, with the fans’ support, and with the faith we have in our abilities, we can achieve the win.”

Akram Afif, Qatar’s talisman, placed equal weight on the backing of the fans. He said his side will be doing all they can to satisfy their own supporters.

“Fans are very important to us, of course,” Afif said. “We play for them and our goal is to make them happy. Trying to achieve a win in this game is our objective to try to make our fans satisfied.”