Preview: United Arab Emirates vs Iraq

Passage to next year’s World Cup has come down to the fifth round for the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, who must battle it out in the first leg on Thursday, November 13. Both nations are searching for only their second appearance at the finals, but overcoming each other is the first step to grabbing a spot at the inter-conference playoffs next year. The UAE lost out on an automatic place at the World Cup by a single point in round-four of the AFC qualifiers. Al-Abyad were on course until they met Qatar, who were comfortably leading at 2-0, before a red card allowed the UAE back into the game. Unfortunately for the hosts, their retaliation was far too late, as they pulled a goal back in the 98th minute of the game. Despite seven additional minutes after the goal, Eyal Zayed could not get back into it and had to settle for the final round of qualifying.