Oman and Qatar settled for a goalless draw in the first Group A match of the fourth round of Asian World Cup qualifiers at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Wednesday.

The result leaves both with work to do with Oman to face the UAE on Sunday, with the Emiratis taking on Qatar three days later.
Sultan Al Brake and Edmílson Junior caused early problems for Oman while at the other end, a wayward backpass from Al Brake almost exposed keeper Mahmud Abunada, who was forced to concede a throw-in after pressure from Issam Al Sabhi.
It was the home side who had the first glance at goal in the 13th minute with Boualem Khoukhi missing the target from distance while Abunada's first real test came in the 27th minute when Issam Al Sabhi skipped past his marker with a neat turn, only to see his powerful left-footed shot comfortably saved by the Qatar custodian.

Qatar almost capitalised six minutes later when Mohammad Al Mannai slipped a clever ball through to Akram Afif, who tried to catch Oman napping but Thani Al Rushaidi was up to the task with a solid intervention.
Nasser Al Rawahi came close to finding the opener for Oman after seeing his glancing header whisk over the bar off a corner, while Qatar's push for goal in the closing stages of the half came from Afif, whose effort was easily dealt by the Omani defence.

Afif came knocking on Oman's door again four minutes after the restart, bursting through the centre and weaving past defenders before cutting inside the box on his favourite right foot, only to drag his effort just wide.
Oman almost caused problems for Julen Lopetegui's side on 69 minutes when Abunada rushed off his line to clear a cross into the box and in doing so left his goal exposed but Abdullah Fawaz could not find the target from distance.

Almoez Ali came on in the 57th minute for Ahmed Al Ganehi but couldn't inspire Qatar to victory as the teams settled for a share of the spoils.

The top team from the group will earn an automatic berth at next year's Fifa World Cup which will be held in the US, Canada and Mexico.

In Group B, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia will battle it out for the top slot for a place in the 2026 World Cup.

The runners-up teams in each group will be locked in a play-off battle next month, with the winner advancing to an inter-continental play-off in March next year to decide the final World Cup slot.

The UAE will be attempting to book a return to the finals 36 years after their only previous appearance, in Italy in 1990.

Cosmin Olariu's UAE will take on Oman in their first game before facing Qatar on October 14.

All Group A matches of the fourth round will be held in Qatar.

The UAE won both their matches against Qatar in the third round of qualifiers. (With inputs from AFC)

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