Wednesday 15 / October / 2025
MUSCAT- Oman's hopes of World Cup spot ended on Tuesday night as 10-man Qatar secured a tense 2-1 win over the UAE in Group A of the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 Playoffs at Doha’s Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday night.
Boualem Khoukhi headed in the first goal in the 49th minute and Pedro Miguel added with another header in the 74th minute. Qatar's Tarek Salman was sent off innthw 89th minute of the match for a strong challenge as tempers flared in the match.
However, UAE's Sultan Alamiri volleyed late into injury time, 98th minute, reduced the margin to raise the team's hopes only to be denied by a gritty Qatari side with the referee awarding 15 minutes injury time.
With the win, Qatar topped the group with four points to take the direct spot from the group for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
UAE took the second spot with three points to knock Oman (one point) out of the World Cup race and earn another chance with a playoff game in November against the second-placed team from Group B, which would be either Saudi Arabia or Iraq.
Ahead of Tuesday's game betwen Qatar and the UAE, Oman's chances for their global stage bow relied on the Qatar-UAE result, with the second-placed team from the group advancing to a playoff against the Group B runners-up, with the winners to bid for one final chance in the FIFA inter-continental playoff tournament.
Carlos Queiroz's Red Warriors had got off to their campaign in the group with a goalless draw against hosts Qatar before going down 2-1 to the UAE in the next match.
