The United Arab Emirates (UAE), led by head coach Paulo Bento, won the third Asian qualifying match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and China.
The UAE defeated Kyrgyzstan 3-0 in the fifth Group A match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE on the 15th (Korea time).
After beating Qatar 3-1 in the first match of the third qualifying round, the UAE had two wins, one draw and two losses (7 points).
The UAE, ranked third in Group A, trailed Uzbekistan (10 points), which was defeated 2-3 by Qatar, by three points and increased its chances of advancing to the finals. Iran leads Group A with 13 points.
In fact, the 3rd qualifying round, which is the concept of the final qualifying round, determines the winners of six of the 8.5 tickets allocated to Asia, and the 1st and 2nd places in Group A to C will go straight to the finals.
Kyrgyzstan, which beat North Korea to secure its first win after four consecutive losses, ranked fifth in the group (three points). The lowest in the group is North Korea (two points).
The UAE scored the first goal 15 minutes into the first half. Harib Abdullah intercepted a back pass towards the opponent’s goalkeeper and lightly kicked it into the empty net.
UAE, which gained the upper hand, scored an additional goal in the 35th minute of the first half with Marcus Meloni’s right-footed mid-range shot. 스포츠토토
Since then, Kyrgyzstan’s strong counterattack has unfolded, and the UAE blocked the goal with the goalkeeper’s deft defense and the defender’s hand-to-hand defense at the end of the first half.
In the 44th minute of the second half, Abdullah shook the net with a cannonball left-footed mid-range shot from outside the penalty box to win by three goals.
At 1 a.m. on the 20th, the UAE will face Qatar (7 points) in the fourth place of the group at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.