Uzbekistan Qualifies for FIFA World Cup For First Time After Draw Against UAE

‎Uzbekistan qualified for their first-ever qualification for the men’s World Cup finals after their eighth attempt, following a 0-0 draw with the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

‎Goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov made three crucial saves in the second half to secure the point needed for Uzbekistan to advance from Asian Group A.

‎Iran, which has already qualified, will join Uzbekistan in progressing to the tournament. With this result, Uzbekistan becomes the fourth team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, alongside Japan, New Zealand, and Iran.

‎The United States, Canada, and Mexico have automatically qualified as hosts.

‎Earlier, China was eliminated from the 2026 World Cup qualification after a 1-0 loss to Indonesia in Jakarta.

‎A first-half penalty from Ole Romeny was enough to keep China, whose sole appearance was in 2002, last in Group C with just one game remaining.

‎Indonesia, managed by Patrick Kluivert, took the lead just before halftime when Romeny scored from the penalty spot.

‎Meanwhile, in another match in the group, Aziz Behich scored a last-minute goal to give Australia a 1-0 victory over Japan in Perth, bringing the Socceroos close to qualifying for their sixth consecutive World Cup.

‎Australia can qualify for their sixth successive World Cup later Thursday if Saudi Arabia, next week’s final group opponent, fails to win in Bahrain.

‎Japan, already qualified, played an experimental lineup featuring mainly less-capped players, with only Daichi Kamada and Koki Machida having more than four international appearances.

‎Despite this, they dominated possession and created most of the scoring chances. In the final minutes, substitute Takefusa Kubo had a promising chance but missed the target with his shot from inside the box.

‎In the 90th minute, Riley McGree broke free down the right and pulled back for Behich to curl home to bring Perth Stadium to its feet and give Australia their first win over Japan in 16 years.

‎”It hasn’t sunk in just yet, but when the final whistle went, it was a great feeling,” Behich said. “It was a tough game and we had to grind it out. It’s been a long campaign and we have worked so hard.”

‎The teams that finish third and fourth in each of the three groups in this third round of Asian qualification will move on to a fourth stage, competing for the remaining two Asian spots at the World Cup.