All eyes will be on the anticipated match tomorrow, Thursday, between the Qatari national team and its Emirati counterpart, at the Ahmed bin Ali World Cup Stadium, at the start of its journey in Group One in the third stage of qualifying for the World Cup finals, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.
The team that won the 2023 Asian Cup wants to take the first successful step and be able to win the full mark, and it knows very well that this type of match does not accept division by two and does not recognize half solutions, especially since the points will be extremely important in the struggle between the competing teams in the group.
In recent days, the Spanish coach of the Qatari national team, Bartolome Marquez Lopez, has been keen to study the competitor, relying heavily on the experience factor, which represents the striking force in the ranks of the two-time Asian champion, in light of the presence of the best player in the Qatari football season 2023/2024, Akram Afif, alongside Al Duhail striker Almoez Ali.
The Qatari team regained the efforts of midfielder Asim Madibo after the Spaniard Lopez decided to include him again along with Karim Boudiaf, Al Duhail midfielder, after their absence for the entire past period, while the Spanish coach excluded Al Sadd’s centre-back Boualem Khoukhi, which leaves the back lines of “Al-Adham” in the hands of the quartet Tariq Salman, Pedro Miguel, Lucas Mendes and Bassam Al-Rawi, with additional options represented by Jassim Jaber and Humam Al-Amin.
It is clear that Lopez will maintain the principle of realism in the game without taking risks on the offensive side, and applying caution on the defensive side.
According to these variables, the lineup that the Qatari team will play tomorrow’s match may witness some changes from the lineup that played its last matches in the second round, and even the final match of the 2023 Asian Cup, while maintaining the general structure.
Certainly, the Spaniard Lopez seeks to write his name in the history of Qatari sports, by leading the national team to qualify for the World Cup through the qualifiers for the first time in its history, after the team’s first appearance was a result of hosting. With the Spanish coach’s success in achieving the continental championship title, the ceilings of ambitions have risen, as he now aspires to create a historic achievement that will remain immortal in the memory for many years.
The Qatari team has a streak of 13 matches without defeat (11 wins) and two draws in competitive international matches, and will be keen to continue it in tomorrow’s match.
For its part, the UAE national team, which is seeking to make a second World Cup appearance after a 36-year absence since its first appearance in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, is targeting former UAE star Adnan Al Talyani.
The UAE national team, led by its Portuguese coach Paulo Bento, hopes to emerge from tomorrow’s match with satisfactory gains. Bento acknowledged the difficulty of the task awaiting him despite the new arrivals who have strengthened his ranks.
Pinto is counting on Al Wasl striker Caio Canedo, Yahya Al Ghassani, and Harb Abdullah, in addition to Montpellier player Junior Ndiaye, as well as recruiting Southampton goalkeeper Adly Mohamed.
As for the confrontations between the two teams in the World Cup qualifiers, they met on three occasions before, and each team won one match, and they tied in one.
The two teams met for the first time on October 24, 1989, and tied (1-1), in the fourth round of the final qualifiers.
The Qatari team managed to win 2-0 in the Asian final qualifiers on August 31, 2001.
In terms of total confrontations, the Qatari team has the historical advantage, as they have met on 32 occasions, whether in friendly, Gulf or Arab matches.
The Qatari team won 14 matches, compared to 9 victories for the UAE, and they tied in 9 matches.
The two teams tied (1-1) in their last match, which took place on January 13, 2023, in the third round of Group Two of the Gulf Cup in the Iraqi city of Basra.