The UAE Football Association announced today, Tuesday, that the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi will host the first leg of the national team’s playoff match against Iraq for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
This initial match is scheduled for Thursday, November 13, at 8pm in Abu Dhabi, with the return leg set for November 18 in Iraq. The team with the best aggregate score across both games will progress to the global playoff stage.
The UAE missed a direct qualification spot for next year’s FIFA World Cup after a loss to Qatar but still has a shot at the tournament, which the US, Canada, and Mexico will jointly host.
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The UAE team, known as the Whites, will compete against Iraq in a two-leg playoff next month. The winner will advance to the intercontinental playoff.
Should the UAE defeat Iraq in this fifth-round matchup, they will move forward to the final World Cup qualifying round, scheduled to be held in Mexico from March 23 to 31 next year.
In addition to the UAE-Iraq playoff winner, five teams from various regions — one from Africa, two from North, Central America and the Caribbean, one from South America, and one from Oceania — will participate in the intercontinental playoff.
These six teams will compete for the last two spots in next year’s World Cup.
Both Qatar and Saudi Arabia secured spots for the upcoming FIFA World Cup on Tuesday after topping their groups in the fourth round of Asian qualifying. Qatar defeated the UAE 2-1, and Saudi Arabia played to a 0-0 draw with Iraq.
