The head of the UAE Football Association (UAEFA), Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, has congratulated his counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on qualifying for next year's World Cup during the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers.

The Qatari and the Saudi national teams are, until now, the only Gulf squads which secured a spot for themselves in football's biggest event, set to take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, starting June 11, 2026.

The Saudis claimed a 0-0 draw with Iraq in Jeddah on Tuesday to seal their qualification for the Mondial, while the Qataris clinched a very precious win over the UAE on the same day.

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Before the match, which was held in Doha and ended with a 2-1 win to Qatar, only 8 per cent of Jassim bin Hamad Stadium's capacity was allocated to Emirati fans, amid reports of dissatisfaction among UAE fans and inside UAEFA with not giving UAE supporters an equal share of tickets.

However, Emiratis flocked to Doha to support their team, and the UAEFA has provided two locations with large screens for fans who travelled to Qatar but could not make it to the stadium on that important day.

Despite their defeat in the Qatar qualifier, the UAE still has a chance to go to the World Cup by joining the fifth-round play-off over two legs next month.

The team, led by Romanian coach Cosmin Olariu, will face Iraq, which finished second in Group B behind hosts Saudi Arabia in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers.

If the UAE beat Iraq in the fifth round, they will advance to the final round of the World Cup qualifiers, which will be held in Mexico from March 23 to 31 next year.

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