UAE to face Iran and Qatar in Asian 2026 World Cup qualifiers

The UAE face a tough road to reach the 2026 Fifa World Cup after being paired in a group with regional heavyweights Iran and Qatar in Asian qualifying.

The national team have only once before appeared at a global finals, back in 1990, and must navigate a Group A also containing Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea if they are to reach the 2026 edition to be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Iran have appeared at six World Cups including the 2022 edition held in Qatar where they failed to make it out of the group stage.

Qatar are back-to-back winners of the Asian Cup following their 3-1 win over Jordan at last February's rearranged tournament held on home soil.

The UAE, coached by the experienced Portuguese Paulo Bento, safely navigated the second round of Asian qualifying, winning five of their six games to top Group H on 16 points ahead of Bahrain.

Following last month's 1-1 draw against Bahrain in Dubai, Bento called on his squad to improve considerably for the step up in competition in the next round of qualification.

Asked by The National post-match for his evaluation of the team's progress made since his appointment last July, Bento said: “They need to understand the game in a different way. We shouldn’t not have in consideration our weakness and don’t think we are better than we really are.

"This is a bad step. We should realise how good we are and how weak we are, at the same time, and be humble.”

The draw for the third round of Asian qualifying was made at the Asian Football Confederation's headquarters in Malaysia on Thursday.

The 18 teams were divided into three groups, with eight confirmed berths and a possible additional spot via a play-off available for Asia.

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