UAE still have a chance to also make it to the finals in the fifth round of qualifiers.
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Qatar has punched its ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Asian champions used their home-field advantage to win Tuesday’s high-stakes qualifier 2-1 over the UAE.
Celebrations poured into Doha’s iconic Souq Waqif. For many, this was the next best thing to being inside the sold-out 15,000-seat stadium.
After a scoreless first half, Qatar built a two goal lead before the Emiratis scored in extra time, to make it interesting.
The victory secures Qatar’s return to the global stage after debuting as hosts in 2022.
But not all is lost for the UAE.
They still have one more chance to qualify for next year’s World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
But they’ll need to be victorious in a fifth round of qualifiers, which will kick off in November.