UAE take on Qatar, Oman in 2026 World Cup qualifiers
Qatar will host the Group B matches in the fourth round of the qualifiers in October.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia were drawn to take on Iraq and Indonesia in Group A.
The winners of each of the three-team groups, which will be played in October, will join already-qualified Australia, Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Iran and Jordan at next year's expanded 48-nation finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Group B hosts Qatar, organisers of the 2022 World Cup but who have never qualified for the finals, will take on Oman in their first game on Oct. 8. UAE will face the Omanis on Oct. 11, with Qatar and the UAE meeting on Oct. 14.
Saudi Arabia, who are attempting to qualify for a seventh World Cup finals since 1994, will host Group A and open against Indonesia on Oct. 8.
Indonesia will then play Graham Arnold's Iraq on Oct. 11 before the Saudis and Iraq face off on Oct. 14.
The nations finishing in second place in each group will advance to a further round of qualifying, which will be held over two legs in November on a home-and-away basis.
Asia has been granted eight guaranteed berths at the finals. A possible ninth berth is available to the winner of November's match-up via an intercontinental playoff in March.
The UAE are attempting to the qualify for the World Cup for the first time since their debut appearance at Italia 1990.
The Whites finished third in the third round of qualifiers behind Iran and Uzbekistan in Group A, missing out on a direct berth for the World Cup.
Cosmin Olariu's team now gets another shot at glory.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
9 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
England beat Spain in penalty shootout to win Euro 2025
Chloe Kelly converted the decisive kick as England beat Spain 3-1 on penalties to win the Women's Euro 2025 after Sunday's final had finished 1-1 at the end of extra time, allowing the Lionesses to avenge their defeat in the World Cup final of two years ago and retain their continental crown. It looked as though Spain would repeat their victory over England in Sydney two years ago as they dominated the game at St Jakob-Park in Basel and led through Mariona Caldentey's first-half header. But England did not panic, having already trailed against both Sweden in the quarter-finals and Italy in the semis before finding a way to win. Alessia Russo headed in their equaliser just before the hour mark, and no further goals meant a shoot-out in which Kelly -- who once again had a huge impact off the bench -- netted the winner. It was an agonising way to lose for Spain, but they failed to score three of their spot-kicks, with reigning Ballon d'Or Aitana Bonmati seeing her effort saved. Sarina Wiegman's England are therefore back-to-back European champions, with this triumph coming three years after they defeated Germany in extra time at Wembley to win a first women's major tournament. Defeating Spain here helps make up for the agony of losing that World Cup final in 2023, and the victory also confirms Wiegman's place among the coaching greats. She has now won three consecutive European Championships, having led her native Netherlands to victory in 2017 before doing the same with England three years ago. Spain, meanwhile, fell short in their quest to add a maiden European Championship title to the World Cup they won in Australia. La Roja dominated possession as expected, but ultimately paid the price for not putting the game to bed against an England side who never know when they are beaten. Wiegman's team had been 2-0 down against Sweden in the last eight before scoring twice to force extra time as they eventually won on penalties. Then substitute Michelle Agyemang's 96th-minute equaliser denied Italy in the semifinals in Geneva, when Kelly netted the winner in extra time. England had ultimately not played well during much of their run to the final, but it did not matter. Wiegman had taken a gamble on the fitness of Lauren James which paid off, but not quite as planned -- having come off with an ankle injury against Italy, the Chelsea winger did not last until half-time and was replaced by Kelly. By that point Spain were already in front, scoring when Bonmati and Athenea del Castillo combined to set up Ona Battle and her cross from the right was headed in by Caldentey. Montse Tome's Spain, with seven players from Barcelona in their starting line-up, had already been in control before that and it felt like England's best hope was for complacency from their opponents. The best example of that came with the game still goalless, when Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll played a careless short pass to Laia Aleixandri in her own area. Lauren Hemp was alive to the opportunity and pounced, but Coll reacted well to make the save. Yet even at 1-0 it felt like England were still in the game, and they took their chance when it came in the 57th minute when Kelly crossed from the left for her Arsenal teammate Russo to level the scores. England -- with more fans on their side in the crowd of 34,203 -- now sensed yet another comeback win was on the cards, and it took the fingertips of Coll to prevent a Kelly effort from finding the far corner midway through the second half. Agyemang then came on for Russo, hoping to once again play the role of super-sub, while Salma Paralluelo was among those brought on for Spain. Paralluelo found herself in a promising position on several occasions as the game continued into extra time, and from there to the gripping tension of penalties. Beth Mead's first kick for England was saved after she was forced to retake, and captain Leah Williamson also had her effort stopped by Coll. However, Alex Greenwood and Niamh Charles both scored, while Patri Guijarro was the only successful taker for Spain before Kelly stepped up to win it.
Khaleej Times
10 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE Team Emirates' Pogacar wins Tour de France title
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar of the UAE Team Emirates won his fourth Tour de France title after finishing safe in the final stage won by Belgian Wout van Aert on Sunday. Two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark took second place overall with German Florian Lipowitz finishing third.
The National
11 hours ago
- The National
Tadej Pogacar cements reputation as 'once in a generation' talent after fourth Tour de France crown
The Sunday afternoon victory ride around the streets of Paris in July is becoming a pleasantly familiar one for the remarkable and relentless Tadej Pogacar. UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Slovenian superstar sealed Tour de France title number four having produced a devastating performance of total dominance in cycling's grandest race. Pogacar went into Stage 1 in Lille back on July 5 with the added pressure of being overwhelming favourite, having already secured wins on the roads of the UAE, Belgium, Italy and France in 2025 – which in turn had come hot-on-the-heels of last year's historic triple-crown. But any thoughts that the 26-year-old might struggle in the spotlight on what was considered one of the most challenging Tour courses in memory were blown away in awe-inspiring fashion. The list of achievements in this year's race includes four stage wins which moves him up to sixth on the all-time Tour list with 21 victories in total. A century of career wins was reached on Stage 4 when he sealed victory by holding off the challenge of fellow cycling big guns Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Vingegaard. He even came close to another victory on Sunday's final stage until his legs finally gave way as Wout van Aert powered to the win. Pogacar reached and breached the half-century marker for wearing the famous leader's yellow jersey having not relinquished the overall lead since Stage 13, maintaining an advantage of more than four minutes. That is certainly not to say Pogacar found this year a gentle amble around the beautiful French countryside and mountain ranges, far from it. 'Every year we say 'It's the hardest Tour ever', it's all so crazy, but, honestly, I know that this year's Tour was something on another level,' Pogacar said after Saturday's penultimate stage. 'Maybe one day we went a bit easier, but if you look at the power files throughout the whole Tour, it's been really amazing and tough. Even today we almost went all out from start to finish. 'I must say that even though it was the hardest, one of the hardest Tours I ever did, I enjoyed it and had good shape and good legs.' And such is Pogacar's love of the sport that after three of the most gruelling weeks of his cycling career, he might be back in the saddle within a day of leaving the French capital. 'Monday, I travel home, Tuesday maybe I go on the bike. You never know – if I feel good, I do a bit of riding, stop for coffee and enjoy summer at home,' he admitted with a smile on Saturday. Pogacar on Week 1 of Tour – in pictures Jeroen Swart, UAE Team Emirates-XRG's head of performance, believes that keeping Pogacar motivated is going to be key to him maintaining his current sky-high levels. 'I think he's really at his peak. The question now is how long we can keep him at this level, and it's no longer a question of age, but mainly of motivation,' said Swart in an interview with L'Equipe this week. 'With Tadej, the most important thing is to maintain his enthusiasm. He loves what's new, like trying Paris-Roubaix or trying to win Milan-San Remo. 'In some ways, the Tour is a puzzle, you know. You have to be good in time trials, in the mountains, stay healthy, and not crash, but there's nothing new. 'That's why he wanted to ride the Giro, and now that he's done it, he wants to win Roubaix to keep his motivation up and maintain his level.' That motivation could see him target the one Grand Tour title that has so far eluded Pogacar in his already glittering career. Last year saw Pogacar, in his now trademark attacking style, blitz the Giro d'Italia at the first attempt meaning he has only the Vuelta a Espana winner's silverware missing from a trophy cabinet that must be at bursting point. Pogacar finished third overall in the 2019 La Vuelta, a performance that included three stage wins, in what has been his only appearance. On Saturday, Pogacar revealed that a decision has yet to be made on whether he will be lining up in the Italian city of Turin for the race's opening stage on August 23. 'I said on, I don't know which day, that we will decide a couple of days after the Tour when everything is calm and heads are clear, then we make decisions for the next races,' Pogacar added. 'It's going to be tough to decide. Of course, I would like to go to the Vuelta. Every year I do the Tour and I would like to do the Vuelta one day also, so we will see.' Whatever his decision, Pogacar is safe in the knowledge that he is enjoying another stellar year and is now behind only Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, who have all recorded a record five Tour victories. Pogacar on Week 2 of Tour – in pictures Last week saw a different kind of dominance from the Slovenian who decided to switch off his usual all-out attack mode and instead looked to defend his lead through the Alps – particularly from Vingegaard who tried, and failed, to drop his great rival on multiple occasions. 'I'm obviously tired,' admitted Pogacar on Friday. 'It hasn't been an easy Tour. People have been attacking me from left, right and centre. 'From day one to the end, I've had to stay focused and motivated. The main priority was always the yellow jersey. 'Sometimes, all you can do is keep counting down the distance to the finish line. That's how it is.' And UAE Team Emirates are well aware of the focus and motivation their lead rider possesses. 'We realise how incredibly fortunate we are to work with him,' added Swart to L'Equipe. 'He's the first person with such a skill level. 'It only happens once in a generation; it's like working with Roger Federer or Tiger Woods; it's just incredible to see them achieve what they're capable of.'
