The UAE is set to hunt down another victory in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers third round. They’re set to compete against Iran from Group A this Tuesday. After their stunning comeback where they beat Qatar 3-1 in their first match in Doha last Thursday, the UAE team is pumped! They’re confident and ready for their encounter with Iran at Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Iran is coming off a tough 1-0 victory against Kyrgyzstan in their kickoff game on Thursday. The UAE celebrated their win over Qatar, a milestone as their first triumph over these West Asian rivals since 2015.
They surged to victory with three goals in the second half, showcasing how head coach Paulo Bento’s team can adapt in different situations. Bento, who led South Korea to the round of 16 in the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, is hoping for a same-level performance against Iran. Bento shares, “When we manage to reverse a result, we’re not geniuses.
Nor are we failures when we lose. We are ordinary people striving to win in football. Our aim is to provide the players the finest tools to gain victory in a game.”

Iran is determined to make it to the Fifa World Cup for the fourth straight time and seventh overall, earning what they needed against Kyrgyzstan. Coach Amir Ghalenoei confessed they need to step up their game against UAE. “We couldn’t hit as many goals as we wanted to.
Our attack substitutions fell short. We aim to up the quality in our next match.” Iran will face UAE keeping in mind they’ve only lost to them once, registering a 2-1 win in their latest encounter at the 2023 Asian Cup. For the next Fifa World Cup, a 48-team event, Asia has eight direct openings. The third round of the Asian qualifiers splits eighteen teams into three groups of six.
UAE shares a place in Group A with Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and North Korea. Group B houses South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait. Finally, Group C includes Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China, and Indonesia. The top two teams from each group will secure their place in the World Cup. The teams placed third and fourth in each group will then have a shot in the six-team fourth round of qualifiers.
Six teams are heading into the fourth round, splitting into two groups of three. Group winners nab the last two direct World Cup spots. The second-place teams face-off in a playoff. The Asian playoff champ then competes in another playoff with five teams from different regions, battling for the final World Cup spots.

The UAE hasn’t been to the World Cup since 1990, their first and only time. Bahrain and Japan also have big games Tuesday at Bahrain National Stadium. They’re part of Group C and both had victorious starts. Bahrain shocked Australia with a 1-0 win while Japan outmatched China with a whopping 7-0 win. Bahrain achieved their first-ever victory over Australia and UAE thanks to Dragan Talajic.
They’ve also overcome Japan two times in 13 attempts. Thursday’s win showed their tenacity and grit, qualities Talajic emphasized as needed for securing Bahrain’s inaugural World Cup qualification. Talajic reminded the team that the victory over Australia shouldn’t make them complacent, with nine tense games ahead. The ultimate outcome remains, but Bahrain is ready to fight.
Following their impressive show against China PR, Hajime Moriyasu, the head coach, may stick with his initial lineup. Six players managed to score, including starters Wataru Endo, Kaoru Mitoma, who scored twice, Takumi Minamino, and Takefusa Kubo. Substitutes Daizen Maeda and Junya Ito also found the net.
This was a strong start for Japan’s eighth straight World Cup bid. Despite their success, Moriyasu will tell his team to not underestimate Bahrain. The Samurai Blue did suffer a 1-0 defeat to Oman in their first qualifier match for 2022. Moriyasu noted, “Today’s win doesn’t assure our qualification or mean we have an advantage against Bahrain.
We must remain focused and prepared for every game.” He further stressed the challenge of the Asian qualifiers, “Results proves our first match can be tricky. We must stay vigilant.” Meanwhile, Kuwait faces a tough test against an energized Iraq in a Group B match on Tuesday.

Kuwait managed to get an important point in a 1-1 stalemate against Jordan, while Iraq barely beat Oman 1-0. Kuwait was initially down, courtesy of Moussa Al Tamari’s goal but struck back, thanks to Al Sulaiman’s penalty kick augmenting the scores in the final stages of the game, as a result of Tamari’s subsequent injury.
Though feeling inspired by the draw, head coach Juan Antonio Pizzi realizes more efforts need to take place against Iraq at the Jaber Al Ahmad International Stadium. This is part of Kuwait’s strive to secure a spot in the Fifa World Cup for their second time.
Iraq, riding high from their opening win, positions Kuwait as needing to leverage home ground favor to halt their West Asian competition at the same stadium. This will be their first match of this level in ten years, with Kuwait having tasted defeat in both previous skirmishes against Iraq, with scores of 2-1 and 1-0 in international friendlies.
That said, Iraq coped with a setback in their first match, with head coach Jesus Casas potentially missing scoring player Ayman Hussein due to a sustained injury and hospital stay from their match against Oman. Fatigue might add to their woes. Casas states, “We are left with four days against Kuwait. This time isn’t enough to aid our athletes physically, but our squad of 26 members and our replacements will account for any tired players.”
Casas eyes getting Iraq to the Fifa World Cup and UAE for only their second time as well. In case Hussein can’t make it, Spanish coach will count on forward Mohanad Ali, with Ali Jasim also lined up as a goalscorer backup. Confident UAE faces Iraq in future.