The next phase of UAE's mission to qualify for the 2026 World Cup has been set up with the national team drawn to face Qatar and Oman in the fourth round of Asia qualifying.
The UAE had qualified for the final round of a complicated qualification process after failing to make the cut in the previous round.
In June, new coach Cosmin Olaroiu had a great chance to secure qualification soon after taking over the team. However, the UAE were held to a 0-0 draw by Uzbekistan in a crucial third-round qualifier in Abu Dhabi. Victory there would have handed them a spot in the World Cup finals.
However, now the UAE will have to go through another round of qualification for next year's expanded 48-nation tournament that takes place in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The winners of the three-team groups - matches for which will be played in October - will join the already-qualified Australia, Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Iran and Jordan at next year's finals.
Saudi Arabia host Group A and open against Indonesia on October 8. Indonesia then play Graham Arnold's Iraq on October 11 before the kingdom and Iraq face off on October 14.
Group B hosts Qatar, who had successfully hosted the 2022 World Cup, will take on Oman in their first game on October 8. UAE take on Oman on October 11, with Qatar and the UAE meeting on October 14.
The nations finishing in second place in each group will advance to a further round of qualifying, which will be held over two legs in November on a home-and-away basis.
Asia has been granted eight guaranteed berths at the finals. A possible ninth berth is available to the winner of November's match-up via an intercontinental playoff in March.
While it is a complicated route to the finals, UAE forward Caio Canedo said the team remains confident.
“There is a feeling of disappointment because only the victory mattered, but we can still go to the World Cup, just in a different way,” Canedo had said after the match against Uzbekistan.
“If you see the players now, nobody is happy. But we have to believe in the project, we have to believe in the new coach, a great coach with new ideas.
“It is still the beginning, with a new project and ideas and we are all working together. We have got to keep going. We still have another way to go through.”
There is also the larger issue of discipline that needs attention. Ahead of their final match of the third round of Asian qualifying, two key players were thrown out of the squad and heavily fined for disciplinary issues.
Khaled Al Dhanhani and Sultan Adil were stood down from the squad travelling to Kyrgyzstan and also banned from domestic football for five matches for an unspecified “violation”.
UAE coach Olaroiu had said discipline was paramount. “It is always disappointing to have to make this kind of a decision, but when the players come to play for the national team, they have to understand it is not about themselves,” the Romanian said.
“I told them before the first game: this shirt that we wear is more than ourselves. We are carrying the responsibility for a million people."
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
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- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
