The UAE will be in the World Cup qualifying draw when it takes place in Doha on Friday.
Harib Abdullah’s goal was enough to give them a 1-0 win against South Korea at Maktoum Stadium on Tuesday night. It meant they will advance in the qualification process – although there is still work to do to make it to Qatar.
Group A table
Finishing third place in their Asian qualifying group meant UAE will now advance to the final eliminator process, to be played in Qatar in June.
Asian playoff
First, they will face a one-game playoff against Australia, who finished third in the other third round group of Asian qualifying, behind Saudi Arabia and Japan.
UAE will be looking to avenge defeat to the same opposition in Sydney in 2017, which ended the national team’s chances of making it to the World Cup in Russia.
Intercontinental playoff
The winners of that fixture face a final eliminator, against the fifth-placed side from South America’s regional qualifying structure.
Peru secured that place by a point ahead of Colombia, after they beat Paraguay 2-0 in Lima on Tuesday night.
Then what?
UAE will be part of the draw for the World Cup on Friday. The winners of the intercontinental playoff – so either UAE, Australia or Peru – will be placed in pot four for the draw, which means they will be among the lowest-seeded sides for the competition.
Other teams in that tier of the draw will be Ecuador, Saudi, Ghana and three sides who make it through the final eliminators in European qualifying.
