UAE Draws with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan Beat Qatar in World Cup Qualifiers

Photo : Reuters

The UAE football team ended their third round campaign in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifiers with a 1-1 draw against Kyrgyzstan. The match was played on Tuesday at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek.

Although the UAE had already qualified for the next round, they were hoping to finish with a win. It looked like they would, until Kyrgyzstan scored in the final minutes of the match to make it a draw.

The first half was slow, but the UAE broke the deadlock in the 30th minute. Luanzinho took the ball from Kyrgyz defender Valerii Kichin near the halfway line and passed it to Harib Abdalla, who calmly scored past the goalkeeper Erzhan Tokotaev.

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After halftime, Kyrgyzstan looked stronger. They created more chances, and in the last moments of the match, Kai Merk scored the equaliser for the home team. With this result, UAE finished with 15 points, while Kyrgyzstan ended with 8 points. UAE coach Cosmin Olaroiu is still waiting for his first win as head coach.

In another match, Uzbekistan impressed with a 3-0 win over Qatar. The victory helped Uzbekistan finish their group stage with 21 points from 10 games. Qatar, with 13 points, will now go to the fourth round where two more World Cup spots are up for grabs.

Uzbekistan took control of the match early. The first goal came in the 28th minute when Azizbek Turgunboev hit a powerful shot that bounced off the bar and into the net. They continued attacking, and in the 86th minute, captain Eldor Shomurodov scored the second goal. Then, in injury time, Igor Sergeev came off the bench and scored the third goal with a header.

Qatar tried to defend but couldn’t stop Uzbekistan’s strong attacks. Their goalkeeper Salah Zakaria made many saves but was left helpless in the end.