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Asia has eight direct slots for the next Fifa World Cup which will be a 48-team tournament
UAE players celebrate their win over Qatar last month. — AFP
UAE will be determined to get back on to winning ways when they welcome North Korea to the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.
Both teams need a win, with UAE on three points while North Korea only have one following the opening two matches.
A strike late into time added on at the end of the first half saw UAE fall to a 1-0 defeat against Iran on Matchday Two.
It undid the excellent result Paulo Bento’s side achieved against Qatar but the Portuguese felt that his team were unfortunate to not take something from the Iran tie.
Bento, aiming to qualify for the Fifa World Cup with a third different side after having guided Portugal and South Korea at the global showpiece previously, will remind his players they can’t afford to drop points against North Korea, with a difficult away match against Uzbekistan to follow on Tuesday.
North Korea are in a similar situation, having opened their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Uzbekistan before holding Qatar 2-2.
The East Asian side, seeking a third Fifa World Cup Finals appearance, will go into the tie in confident mode after matching Qatar in a thrilling Matchday Two encounter.
A win against UAE will set them up nicely for the away trip to face Kyrgyzstan five days later.
Meanwhile, Japan face second-placed Saudi Arabia in Group C of Asia’s third round of World Cup preliminaries in Jeddah on Thursday looking to continue their prolific start as top-of-the-table clashes take centre stage across the continent.
Hajime Moriyasu’s Japan arrive in the Gulf state having handed out thrashings to China and Bahrain, scoring 12 times in the previous window to sound a warning to the sides chasing one of two automatic World Cup berths available from Group C.
Australia, under new coach Tony Popovic, entertain China in Adelaide while Bahrain host Indonesia but all are in the shadow of a dominant Japan team that are already favourites to secure qualification for an eighth consecutive World Cup.
Moriyasu’s Japan squad is largely unchanged for the meeting with the Saudis, who will be without Mohammed Kanno after the midfielder was sent off in their last-gasp 2-1 win over China in Dalian last month.
That victory, secured through a pair of headers from Hassan Kadesh, added some gloss to an uneven window for Roberto Mancini’s team and has left the Saudis two points adrift of Thursday’s opponents Japan.
South Korea will take on Group B leaders Jordan without their injured captain Son Heung-min with coach Hong Myung-bo aiming to build on a 3-1 win over Oman last month having seen his side draw 0-0 with Palestine in Seoul on Sept. 5.
Jordan, who beat the Koreans in the Asian Cup semifinals in February, lead the standings on goal difference, with Iraq joining their fellow west Asians and South Korea on four points.
Jesus Casas’ Iraq side will host Palestine in Basra with Oman, under new coach Rashid Jaber, taking on Kuwait, who drew their opening fixtures against Jordan and Iraq.
Group A leaders Uzbekistan face Iran in Tashkent with both teams on six points after their first two games to open up a three-point gap over the UAE.
Asia has eight direct slots for the next Fifa World Cup which will be a 48-team tournament.
Eighteen teams have been divided into three groups of six each in the third round of the Asian qualifiers.
The UAE have been drawn in Group A with Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea.
South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait will compete in Group B while Group C features Australia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, China and Indonesia.
The top two teams from each group will qualify directly for the World Cup. The third and fourth-placed teams in each group will then compete in the six-team fourth round of qualifiers.
The six teams in the fourth round will be divided into two groups of three teams. The winners of each group will earn the last two direct slots for the World Cup, while the two runners-up teams will be locked in a playoff battle.
The winner of the Asian playoff will then advance to an inter-confederation playoff tournament featuring five other teams for the final two slots in the World Cup.
The UAE haven’t qualified for the World Cup since their maiden appearance at the global showpiece in 1990. (with inputs from AFC/Reuters)
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