WCQ 2026: UAE vs Iran [Preview]

Sportsmole.co.uk – Al AIN, The two sides at the top of Group A in the third round of AFC qualification for the 2026 World Cup will lock horns on Tuesday, with the United Arab Emirates taking on Iran.

UAE came from behind to record a 3-1 victory over Qatar on Thursday, while Iran opened their Group A campaign with a 1-0 home success over Kyrgyzstan.

UAE have only competed in the finals of one World Cup, which came back in 1990, when they lost all three of their matches to exit the competition in the group stage.

Paulo Bento’s side have been impressive during this qualification campaign, winning six and drawing one of their seven games, scoring 19 times in the process and conceding just three goals.

UAE actually fell behind to Qatar in their section opener on Thursday, but they scored three times in the second period, including twice in the final 10 minutes, to secure all three points courtesy of a 3-1 success.

The national team comfortably finished at the top of Group H in the second qualification round, picking up 16 points from their six matches against Bahrain, Yemen and Nepal.

UAE have only ever beaten Iran on one occasion, which came back in September 1997, and they have lost each of their last six games against Tuesday’s opponents.

The last meeting between these two sides came in January 2004, with Iran running out 2-1 winners in the Asian Cup, and they have only conceded once in their last six games against Qatar, which is an indication of their recent dominance.

Iran were 1-0 winners over Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, with Mehdi Taremi netting the only goal of the contest in the 34th minute.

Amir Ghalenoei’s side finished top of Group E in the second round of qualification, picking up 14 points from their six matches, with their record during qualification for the 2026 World Cup standing at five wins and two draws from seven games.

Iran have been present in the finals of six World Cups, including each of the last three, but they have never managed to make it past the group stage.

The national team will be the favourites to finish at the summit of this particular section, although they were not at their best against Kyrgyzstan last time out.

Team News:

UAE are once again set to have Caio Canedo at the tip of their attack, with the forward bidding to add to the nine goals that he has managed for his country.

Tahnoon Al-Zaabi played as a number 10 against Qatar last time out, and that is again expected to be the case in this match, with the 25-year-old in line to earn his 32nd cap for his country.

There should also be another start in midfield for Yahia Nader.

Iran have not reported any injury concerns from their clash with Kyrgyzstan last time out, so it would not be a surprise to see the same XI take to the field.

Taremi netted his 51st international goal last time out, and the 32-year-old will once again operate in the final third of the field alongside Sardar Azmoun, who has 53 goals for his country.

Saman Ghoddos will also be a notable inclusion in midfield, with the 31-year-old, who is currently a free agent after leaving Brentford, in line to win his 54th cap.

United Arab Emirates possible starting lineup:
Eisa; Ebraheim, Al Hammadi, Kouadio, Idrees; Suhail, Hamad, Nader, Al Ghassani; Al-Zaabi; Canedo

Iran possible starting lineup:
Beiranvand; Yousefi, Hazbavi, Khalilzadeh, Mohammadi; Gholizadeh, Ghoddos, Noorafkan, Ghayedi; Taremi, Azmoun

Prediction: United Arab Emirates 1-2 Iran

Iran are on a six-game winning run against the UAE, and we are backing that to be stretched to seven in this encounter. It should be a tight match, but Iran have so much quality in the forward areas, and we are expecting the visitors to make it six points from two matches in this particular section.