Our national football team lost its first match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers by three goals to one against its Emirati counterpart, in the match that took place between them yesterday evening at Ahmed bin Ali World Cup Stadium in the opening matches of Group One. Ibrahim Al-Hassan scored for Al-Annabi in the 38th minute, and for the Emirates Ismail Harb, Khaled Ibrahim and Ali Saleh in the 68th, 81st and 93rd minutes.
Al-Annabi did not perform as expected and appeared far from its level, especially in the second half, and made many mistakes that made it easier for Al-Abyad to achieve victory.
Al-Abyad almost took an early lead in the 12th minute with the first threat from a cross that reached Kwame’s head and was saved by Mendez. Our team got the first chance in the 14th minute from a cross by Ismail Mohammed that was miraculously saved by the defense before Almoez Ali’s feet. In the 28th minute, Afif passed a cross to Jassim Jaber’s head directly in front of the goal and he shot it over the crossbar.
Al-Annabi managed to reach the Emirati net in the 38th minute from a ball passed by Afif to Ibrahim Al-Hassan inside the area, who shot it low into the net.
The UAE team tried to surprise Al Annabi at the beginning of the second half, so they tried to pressure and attack, but they ran into a strong and organized defense, and they almost paid a high price for this rush, with Al Annabi trying to launch several counterattacks.
Despite the Emirati activity, the Al Annabi attacks were the most dangerous and closest to the goal, as more than one good opportunity arose for Al Moez and Afif. The Whites began to rely on powerful shooting to reach the goal, and in the 64th minute, Tahnoon Al Zaabi fired a rocket shot into the side netting, and in the 68th minute, the Whites succeeded in equalizing with a powerful shot by Harb Suhail with his left foot to the right of Mishaal.
Al-Annabi was very confused after the Emirati goal and lost control of the ball, and the superiority became Emirati, and in the 81st minute, through long-range shots, Al-Abyad snatched the second goal with a powerful shot by Khaled Ibrahim that settled in the left corner of the goal. Al-Annabi tried to come back and pressed hard and got a penalty kick in the 83rd minute, but the VAR intervened and canceled the kick. In the third minute of stoppage time, Al-Abyad snatched the third goal from a fatal defensive error and from an easy ball that reached the midfield and was lost and prepared for Ali Saleh, who shot it into the net.
The two coaches do not know peace
The anxiety and tension were evident on the coaches of Al-Annabi and the Emirates since the first minutes of the match, especially the Portuguese Paulo Bento, the coach of the Emirates, who appeared standing since the beginning of the match and appeared to be giving instructions very early.
Al-Annabi coach Marquez Lopez seemed a bit calm, but after a few minutes he got up and started giving instructions to the players.
Match shots
*A wonderful scissor kick by our star Jassim Jaber in the first minute, but it went wide of the UAE goal.
*Al-Annabi played in its well-known colour, while the UAE team wore all white.
*The first mistake in the match was made by the Emirates and was called against our player Jassim Jaber.
*Al Annabi goalkeeper Barsham wore yellow, while the UAE goalkeeper wore black.
* Minute 11 witnessed the first dangerous attack by the Emirates, but our defender Lucas Mendez saved it to a corner kick.
* The most dangerous attack for Al Annabi was in the 14th minute when Ismail Mohammed passed a perfect ball to Almoez Ali, but defender Khalifa Al Hammadi saved it for a corner kick.
*Before the first half hour had passed, Akram Afif sent a curved ball to Jassim Jaber’s head in front of the UAE goal, but the dangerous header went over the crossbar.
*The referee added 5 minutes of extra time to the first half, during which Al-Annabi almost scored the second goal.
* The first change for Al-Annabi was in the 62nd minute of the match, when the scorer of the goal, Ibrahim Al-Hassan, was replaced by Abdulaziz Hatem.
* A powerful shot from Tahnoon Al Zaabi in the 64th minute, but it hit the side netting of Al Annabi’s goal from the outside.
*Several positive substitutions were made by the UAE coach, which made him the most dominant player in the match, especially in the middle of the field during most of the second half.
*The referee added 9 minutes of extra time to the second half of the match.
Early stress for coaches
The tension was clear on the coaches of both teams early on, whether Lopez, the coach of Al-Annabi, or Pinto, the coach of the Emirates, in order to prevent the players from making mistakes at the beginning.
The mouse is unfair to the maroon
In the 85th minute, the referee awarded a penalty kick to Al-Annabi after the ball hit the hand of the UAE defender, but after returning to the VAR technology, the referee reversed his decision and did not even award it a corner kick to Al-Annabi because the ball was pushed out of the field by the hand of the UAE defender.
The disappearance of Al-Moez Ali
The Al Annabi attacking star did not pose the expected threat to the UAE goal, but rather he surrendered to the strict defensive marking imposed on him, in addition to the few balls that reached him in the UAE penalty area.
Amazing third goal
In the third minute of stoppage time, the UAE national team managed to score a third goal in an amazing way through substitute Ali Saleh, who exploded the ball into Barsham’s goal.
Confirm the goal
UAE star Hareb Abdullah scored the equaliser for his country in the 67th minute, and despite doubts about his offside, VAR technology confirmed the validity and legitimacy of the UAE goal.
Kwame’s first card
Emirates and Al Ain defender, Kwame, received the first yellow card in the match in the 25th minute after he used roughness on our player, Ismail Mohammed.
The number of spectators attending yesterday’s match between our national team and its Emirati counterpart was 33,952, in the match that the Emirates won by three goals to one, at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium for the first group of the third round, where the spectator attendance formed a wonderful picture in the stands of the World Cup stadium.