Iraq, UAE battle to keep World Cup dream alive

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will attempt to overcome the disappointment of missing out on an automatic berth at next year’s World Cup when they face off on Thursday for another shot at keeping their qualification dreams alive.

The teams meet in Abu Dhabi before reconvening in Basra four days later, with the winners progressing to an intercontinental playoff that will determine the 48th and final qualifier for the expanded tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Both nations go into the matches, which are among the most important in the history of the respective countries, having already squandered opportunities to progress automatically and end lengthy absences from the finals.

Iraq lost out last month to Saudi Arabia in their attempt to book a first World Cup berth since debuting at the tournament in 1986 while Emirati efforts to claim a ticket for the first time since 1990 were denied by Qatar.

The Iraqis will be counting on the experience of coach Graham Arnold to guide them through the playoffs, with the 62-year-old having navigated a series of elimination rounds to qualify his native Australia for the 2022 finals in Qatar.

“We’re doing everything we possibly can for Iraq to make sure we qualify,” Arnold said last week upon announcing his squad, bolstered by the return of talismanic striker Aymen Hussein from injury.

“I know a lot of the fans and the media were disappointed after the Saudi game, but I have to say I was so proud of the performance of the players in terms of work ethic.

“Defensively we did very well, we didn’t concede a goal (against Saudi Arabia and Indonesia) and the work rate, the discipline was great but we need to do better with the ball and put the ball in the back of the net.”

Iraq have only scored twice in the four qualifiers since Arnold was appointed in May while the UAE have fared slightly better under Cosmin Olaroiu, netting four times in four matches after the Romanian replaced Paulo Bento.