UAE vs Iran

On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, the top two teams in Group A of the AFC qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, will square off.

On Thursday, the UAE overcame a deficit to defeat Qatar 3-1, while Iran began their Group A campaign with a 1-0 triumph at home against Kyrgyzstan.

UAE has only ever been in one World Cup final—back in 1990, when they were eliminated from the competition after losing all three of their matches.

Paulo Bento's team has performed admirably in this qualification campaign, winning six and drawing one of their seven games while scoring 19 goals and allowing just three goals to be conceded.

UAE really behind Qatar in their opening section match on Thursday, but they came back to win 3-1 and gain all three points. They scored three goals in the second half, including two in the last ten minutes.

With 16 points from their six games against Yemen, Nepal, and Bahrain, the national team easily won Group H in the second qualifying round.

The United Arab Emirates has only ever defeated Iran once, which occurred in September 1997. They have also lost all six of their previous meetings with Tuesday's opponents.

Iran has only conceded once in their last six games against Qatar, demonstrating their current dominance. These two teams last faced each other at the Asian Cup in January 2004, where Iran prevailed 2-1.

On Thursday, Iran defeated Kyrgyzstan 1-0; Mehdi Taremi scored the game's lone goal in the 34th minute.

With 14 points from six games, Amir Ghalenoei's team emerged victorious in Group E during the second round of qualification. Their record in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup was five victories and two draws from seven games.

Iran has participated in six World Cup finals, the last three of which they have attended, however they have never advanced past the group stage.

Even if they weren't at their best against Kyrgyzstan the previous time out, the national team will be the favorites to finish at the top of this particular section.