The national football team begins its journey in the decisive final round of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, scheduled to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with a strong confrontation against its counterpart, the Qatari national team, at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Doha, at eight o’clock this evening, UAE time, in the first round of Group One, which also includes the national teams of Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea.
Despite the difficulty of the match against Al-Annabi on its home ground and in front of its fans, the national team hopes to return from Doha with a valuable victory that will give the players a great moral incentive and motivation in their journey to reach the dream of reaching the World Cup finals, after the team reached this stage with merit and worthiness, after topping its group in the second round qualifiers with 16 points without any loss, as it achieved victory in five matches out of six, and tied in only one match, noting that the last meeting between the two teams ended in a 1-1 draw, in the 25th Arabian Gulf Cup held in Iraq 2023.
Historically, this match is the fourth between the two teams in the World Cup qualifiers, after they met three times, where each team won one match and tied one match. The first match was in 1989 in the final qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup, and ended in a 1-1 draw. The second match brought the two teams together in the final qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup, and ended with the Qatari team winning 2-0. In the same qualifiers, the Emirati Whites won 2-1.
The match also represents a Gulf football summit, as well as a new challenge for the national team and its Portuguese coach Paulo Bento as the toughest test for him since he took over the training of the Whites in July of last year, given that he will face the Asian champion who won the title for the second time in a row, while the national team coach had confirmed in press statements before the mission left for Doha that organization and discipline are the most important weapons to achieve good results in the World Cup qualifiers.
The UAE Whites completed their preparations for this important match after holding a short internal training camp on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, during which coach Pinto focused on the players’ physical and technical readiness, in addition to settling on the match lineup and the game plan with which they will face the Qatari team, noting that the team did not play any friendly matches, and Pinto was satisfied with the short preparation period, as well as the players’ participation with their teams in the first and second rounds of the ADNOC Professional League, and the first round of the Professional League Cup (Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Cup).
According to the tournament system, the third stage of the Asian qualifiers includes three groups, each group containing six teams. The two teams that obtain first and second place qualify directly for the World Cup finals, while the teams that obtain third and fourth place compete for two additional places, with the opportunity to compete for an additional seat during the play-off.
The national team delegation arrived in Doha yesterday, where the team conducted its final training session at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium. The players appeared fully prepared and in high spirits to face this great challenge.
The national team coach, Pinto, is betting on his winning cards, represented by Caio Canedo, Fabio de Lima, Yahya Al-Ghassani and Ali Saleh, as well as on the young elements in the national team, in addition to the new faces in the ranks of the Whites, including Al Ain defender Kwame Kouaidou, the trio of professionals in Europe, Junior Ndaye and Mackenzie Hunt, and goalkeeper Adly Mohamed.
The national team’s list for Doha included 28 players, as the team lost its rising striker Sultan Adel, who was excluded from the last national team list due to his lack of full readiness.
In contrast, the Qatari team has concluded its preparations for the match against Al-Abyad, after the Qatari team coach, the Spaniard Marquez Lopez, chose 26 players. The Qatari team, which won the Asian Cup, seeks a strong start in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers.
• Pinto takes on his toughest challenge yet and bets on his winning cards.
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