Confident Qatar eye away win against arch-rivals UAE

Buoyed by their fighting 3-2 victory over Uzbekistan last Thursday, Asian champions Qatar will be looking to maintain their winning momentum going into today’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying clash against hosts UAE at Al Nahyan Stadium.
Qatar coach Marquez Lopez yesterday said the hard-fought win over Uzbekistan had lifted the mood in Al Annabi camp.
Four days ago, Lucas Mendes’ goal deep into added time secured Qatar a 3-2 win against Uzbekistan and head coach Marquez Lopez is confident that thrilling win would steer his side past UAE, who won the reverse fixture 3-1 in September.
“The win against Uzbekistan was a huge morale boost for us and will help in this crucial game against the UAE. Rising in the standings is very important for us,” Lopez, from Spain, said during a news conference yesterday.
“We had limited preparation time, but we are physically ready for the challenge,” the Asian Cup winning coach added.
Lopez, who was Al Wakrah coach until December last year when he was offered to manage the Qatar team, yesterday said Qatar-UAE rivalry may see a different contest today.
“The UAE are an excellent team, but the match will be different from our previous encounter. We controlled the game in the first half but conceded goals in the second half due to counter attacks. Maintaining 100 percent focus will be key to securing victory,” Lopez warned.
Qatar’s mercurial play-maker Akram Afif struck a confident note during the pre-match press conference yesterday.
“Our complete focus is on securing a win, which is pivotal for our qualifying campaign. Collecting three points is crucial, and we will give our all to achieve the goal,” Afif said.
“The fans mean a lot to us, as they provide immense motivation. We promise to do our best to make them proud and happy,” the newly-minted Asian Player of the Year added.
UAE Coach Paulo Bento said yesterday: “Qatar are a tough side with quality and experienced players. They’ve won two Asian Cup titles and also competed in the World Cup. It’s going to be a difficult match.
He added: “This is an important game for us. We succeeded in winning the away fixture against
Qatar and now aim to deliver our best performance and earn the desired result. We trust in our capabilities.
“Each match is different, and this one won’t be the same as our last meeting. It’s difficult to replicate results in football, but we must draw lessons from the previous match and other games to craft a winning strategy.”
UAE Right-Back Khaled al-Dhanhani said: “This match is vital for both teams. We are determined to secure three points in front of our home fans, whose support provides a massive morale boost.”
Meanwhile former Qatari national team player Adel Khamis said Qatar’s win against Uzbekistan was ‘important’.
“The last win helped Qatar to correct its course and restore full chances to remain in the competition cycle to qualify directly for the next World Cup finals and not wait and turn to the Asian play-off,” Khamis said.
He added that the national team came out with many gains last Thursday. He, however, added that the technical staff must make sure there are ‘less mistakes’ than the ones seen against Uzbekistan in the second half last Thursday.
“There should be less mistakes since the match against the Emirati national team will be very important because victory in it will make us take an important step towards getting closer to the first and second places,” he added.