Today, Tuesday, in Doha, the UAE will compete against Australia for the fifth map of the Asian continent in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which will see the winner take on Peru in an international addition that gives its champion the penultimate 31st ticket to the global event.
In the air-conditioned Ahmed bin Ali stadium, the UAE is dreaming of following the dream of the World Cup they once orphanedly tasted in 1990. If Australia misses it, Peru will host their fifth Copa Sudamericana next Monday in the same stadium.
Wales secured the last places in Europe on Sunday with a 1-0 win over Ukraine in Cardiff with two maps remaining, the first between Peru and the winner between Australia and the UAE, with its champion joining the group of reigning champions France, Denmark and Tunisia for the World Cup.
And the second, Tuesday, June 14, between New Zealand, the champions of Oceania, and Costa Rica, the fourth CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean), also at the Ahmed Ben Ali Stadium. The UAE and Australia qualified for the Asian playoffs after finishing third in their respective groups in the decisive third round of the Asian qualifier.
The UAE finished third in Group A with 12 points in 10 matches, behind Iran (25) and South Korea (23), while Australia was in the same place in second place (15), behind Saudi Arabia (23) and Japan (22). . .
Tuesday’s match will be the fifth official match between the two teams, with Australia winning three, compared to the UAE’s 1-0 win in the last meeting that brought them together in the 2019 Asian Cup quarter-finals in Abu Dhabi. .