On Thursday, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will play each other in the opening Group A match in the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
To advance to this round of qualifying, the hosts and visitors each finished first in their respective groups during the second round.
From winning back-to-back AFC Asian Cups in 2019 and 2023 to playing in their first World Cup as the competition's host in 2022, Qatar has had an incredible few years in the football world.
Despite their achievements, they tragically lost in their first two games to exit the group stage, making history as the worst-ever World Cup hosts.
After that outcome, Qatar had a terrible run of play in the tournaments that followed, winning only four of their next 14 games in all. However, they have recently turned things around.
Qatar defeated Afghanistan 8-1 on the first matchday of the second round of Asian qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Coming into this match, Qatar had only lost once in their previous 15 games.
Tintin Marquez's goal is to ensure Qatar's straight qualifying for a second consecutive World Cup by building on his team's strong performance and finishing in the top two in Group A of the third round of Asian qualifiers.
UAE, who finished first in their group in the Asian qualifying stage with five victories and one tie from six games, will present a difficult test for Qatar.
Paulo Bento took over the UAE team in July 2023, and since then, he has made great improvements. In his 15 games as manager, the team has gone from having only three victories in their previous 12 games to having 10 wins and only three losses.
In order to guarantee the UAE's spot in just its second World Cup tournament—the country last qualified in 1990—Bento will be hoping his team can build on its recent winning streak in the third round of Asian qualifiers.
But in recent years, the visitors have been outmatched in this matchup, losing three of the last four encounters by an overall score of 14-3 to Qatar.
