Looking to book a place in the qualifying playoffs, UAE welcome South Korea to the Al-Maktoum Stadium in the final World Cup qualifying group match on Tuesday evening with kickoff at 16:45.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) were left empty handed again in the Asia World Cup Qualifying campaign as their fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Iraq at the King Fahd International Stadium on Thursday. The defeat was their second consecutive qualifying loss as they were coming off another 1-0 defeat to Iran.
They have now only won one of their last four qualifying matches something they will be looking to rectify on Tuesday. The Eyal Zayed need a victory on in this clash if they are to secure their third-placed finished in Group A, a spot that will a book them a place round four playoff against Australia in June.
Anything less than a victory for the hosts could spell the end of their World Cup dream thus we expect them to give their all on Tuesday.
Meanwhile the visitors, South Korea, enter the final qualifying match already qualified for the finals in Qatar later in the year. They head into the match off the back off a comfortable 2-0 victory against Iran at Seaoul World Cup Stadium on Thursday afternoon, with skipper Son Heung-min and Kim Young-gwon getting the goals.
The Taegeuk Warriors have now gone unbeaten in their last six qualifying matches and have won all their last five qualifying matches in a row. The Thursday victory saw them leapfrog Iran to the top spot in Group A where they now lead with a point in the clear and will be looking to end the campaign at the top, and with their current momentum.
They are the clear favorites for the clash considering their dominant record over their hosts.
UAE vs South Korea head to head
Both sides have met in seven encounters since 2008 with South Korea claiming six victories while UAE have claimed one victory. Take a look at their previous results;
- South Korea 1-0 UAE 11/11/21
- South Korea 3-0 UAE 11/06/15
- UAE 0-2 South Korea 11/11/11
- South Korea 2-1 UAE 11/10/11
- South Korea 0-1 UAE 23/11/10
Home
- Iraq 1-0 UAE
- Iran 1-0 UAE
- UAE 2-0 Syria
- Qatar 5-0 UAE
- Tunisia 1-0 UAE
Away
- South Korea 2-0 Iran
- Syria 0-2 South Korea
- Lebanon 0-1 South Korea
- South Korea 4-0 Moldova
- Iceland 1-5 South Korea
UAE team news
UAE will be without Fabio Lima and Sebastian Tagliabue due to injuries while Ali Khaseif is unavailable as he was named in the squad.
South Korea team news
South Korea will be without Paik Seung-ho, Kim Jin-kyu, Jeong Woo-yeong and Na Sang-ho due to testing positive for the Covid-19, while Hong Chul was ruled with an injury and Min-jae Kim is a doubt.
Prediction and odds
- South Korea win
- Both sides to score
- Goals over 2.5
