The UAE will take on Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea in Group A in the third round of Asia’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The third round of the World Cup qualifiers begin on September 5 and run until June 10.
Eighteen Asian teams will be vying for eights World Cup spots. The teams have been divided into three groups of six each.
The winners and runners-up in each group qualifying automatically for the finals in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The third and fourth place finishers in each group will advance to a fourth round in which six teams will vie for the remaining two automatic slots.
The UAE, who are hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since their maiden appearance at the 1990 World Cup, were in superb form in the second round of qualifiers as they topped Group H with 16 points from six matches.
Paulo Bento’s team will take on Iran in their first match of the third phase of qualifiers on September 10.
Meanwhile, Iran will be aiming to progress to a fourth World Cup in a row – and seventh in total – after appearing in 2014, 2018 and 2022 and take on a Qatar side attempting to qualify for the tournament for the first time.
The Qataris, who won a second consecutive Asian Cup title in February, played at the 2022 edition as hosts but have never progressed to the finals through the preliminaries.
Four-times Asian champions Japan will face familiar foes in the third round of Asia’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers after Hajime Moriyasu’s side were drawn to take on Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
South Korea will meet Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait in Group B.
Japan, who have qualified for the last seven World Cup tournaments, played both Saudi Arabia and Australia in the final phase of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
Moriyasu’s team qualified automatically for the most recent tournament from the group alongside Saudi Arabia while Australia eventually qualified via an intercontinental playoff.
The draw has left the Chinese facing a daunting challenge to secure a place at their first World Cup since making their debut, and so far only appearance in 2002.
The Koreans will be favourites to advance from Group B but take on a Jordan side that defeated them in the semifinals of the Asian Cup earlier this year. (With inputs from Reuters)