“White” is armed with history in the face of Uzbekistan today

The national football team will play one of its most important matches in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup finals, when it meets Uzbekistan, at six in the evening today, at Milli Stadium in Tashkent, in the fourth round of Group A competitions.

The team has a bright history against Uzbekistan (the White Wolves), as it did not lose to them during the matches that brought them together in the World Cup qualifiers. They had previously met in 1997 on two occasions, and the “White Wolves” won the first 3-2, and tied in the second without goals. They also met on two occasions in 2001, and the UAE won back and forth 4-1 and 1-0.

The two teams played together five times in the Asian Cup qualifiers, with each team exchanging wins in two matches, and a draw on one occasion. They also met the same number on a friendly level, with the “Whites” winning two matches, drawing the same, and losing once.

“White” enters the confrontation occupying third place in its group, three points behind the Uzbek national team, which leads the group with a goal advantage over the Iranian national team.

After an ideal start for the team in the World Cup qualifiers by defeating Qatar outside its home stadium with a score of 3-1, it quickly declined in two matches played at home, losing to Iran with a clean goal, and drawing with North Korea 1-1, after a performance that was the weakest for the Whites with their Portuguese coach. Paulo Pinto.

The current state of the team’s ranking in the group necessitates the inevitability of returning with a positive result, in order to maintain its chances of booking one of the two direct qualification tickets for the World Cup. A win will make “Al-Abyad” jump to second place, and revive its hopes in that group, which became more difficult with the progress of Qatar and North Korea, the favorites to win in the tournament. This round is against Kyrgyzstan, which is in last place with no points.

The national team will be missing a group of its key players in the Uzbekistan match, led by Fabio Lima, who was prevented by special circumstances from traveling with the team to Tashkent, along with the injured midfielder Yahya Nader, and defender Kwame Koidu, due to the accumulation of yellow cards, but the “white” will not There is no problem in providing alternatives with the presence of Al Ain defender Khaled Al Hashemi, who is nominated to be Kwame’s replacement.

Although the Uzbek team occupies the top spot in Group A, it was not in its best condition at home. It narrowly beat the North Korean team, which missed a penalty kick with no response, and tied with the Iranian team, which was down in number, without goals. However, this imposes The “White” players must be careful of the influences that will accompany the match, most notably the condition of the field, which will not be in its best condition, in addition to the presence of the Uzbek fans who do not stop cheering throughout the 90 minutes.