The UAE have been drawn against the likes of Thailand and Vietnam in qualification for the 2022 Fifa World Cup after the draw took place in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
The national team, seeded in Pot 1, have been placed in Group G for the second phase of qualification alongside Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Each team plays each other home and away.
Matches begin in September, with a double-header on September 5 and 10, and finish next June. The eight group winners automatically progress to the third and final stage of qualification, together with the four best runners-up. Matches in this round double as part of qualification for the 2023 Asian Cup, to be played in China.
The national team, currently at a training camp in Austria with new manager Bert van Marwijk, is seeking to make the global finals for only the second time in the country’s history, having appeared at the 1990 tournament.
The next World Cup will take place in Qatar from 21 November-18 December, 2022.
