UAE breathe life into 2026 World Cup qualifying bid with dominant victory over Kyrgyzstan in Abu Dhabi

Shabab Al Ahli star Harib Abdallah shines as Paulo Bento's side deliver in must-win game

UAE's Marcus Meloni celebrates his first goal for the national team. AFP

The UAE gave their 2026 World Cup qualifying hopes a boost with a 3-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday night.

One of their brightest young players, the 21-year-old Shabab Al Ahli star Harib Abdallah, scored twice. He broke the deadlock early on and then added the third with a 25-yard screamer in the 89th minute. Marcus Meloni had struck the UAE's second – his first goal for the national team following his recent call-up – midway through the opening half.

It was a fine performance from Paulo Bento’s side, who came into the game with their manager under pressure following a pair of 1-0 defeats, to Iran and Uzbekistan, and a damaging 1-1 home draw against North Korea.

The win took them up to seven points, while Qatar's victory over Uzbekistan reignited the race for a top-two finish in Group A.

This game marked the halfway point for the UAE, and despite a much-needed three points they still have work to do if they are to seal either direct qualification or the consolation prize of a spot in the fourth round.

Only the top two from each of three sections will seal their place at the expanded 48-team tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico. The six third and fourth-placed teams will be split into two groups of three with the winners of each group playing off for a spot at the finals. The loser of that game will get one last chance in the intercontinental play-off.

Next up for Bento’s side is a pivotal home game against Qatar at Al Wahda’s Al Nahyan Stadium on Tuesday night (8pm). After that they face a pair of away fixtures in March, to group leaders Iran and then North Korea.

They complete their Group A schedule with a home game against Uzbekistan and a final trip for the reverse fixture against Kyrgyzstan.

It's a tricky path ahead, but one they can face with renewed belief after victory in the capital on Thursday.

The hosts showed some early nerves as they passed erratically and lost possession before Abdallah settled everything down with the opener.

Collecting an errant pass from the visiting right full-back, Abdallah controlled expertly and side-stepped Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper Tokotaev Erzhan and coolly netted for a 15th minute lead.

Meloni then doubled the advantage on 35 minutes with a long-range shot that dipped in front of Erzhan and crept under the diving keeper’s attempted save.

Kyrgyzstan came back strongly and were only denied by the individual brilliance of home keeper and captain Khalid Eisa, who blocked a powerful strike from Kichin Valeri and was up on his feet in a flash to push out a close-range shot on the rebound from Kairat Zhyrgalbek Ululu.

The UAE centre-back Mohammed Al Attas was also called into action as he made an excellent block to fend off Joel Kojo's shot and maintain a 2-0 lead going into the break.

The hosts regrouped and only poor finishing stopped them putting the game to bed. Kyrgyzstan, on the other hand, nearly closed the gap with their counter attacks, and it was Eisa who once again denied the visitors with a fantastic diving block of Abdurakhmanov Odilzhion’s tracer bullet from outside the area.

But as the final minutes ebbed away, there was still time for Abdallah to underscore his huge potential as he fired a spectacular third to seal a much-needed triumph and ease the pressure on his manager.