The 3rd round of the World Cup qualifying round is tough My goal is to advance to the finals

Group A of the 3rd qualifying round for the North Korea-China World Cup with Iran, Qatar, and North Korea

Paulo Bento, head coach of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) national soccer team, said he would advance to the finals for the first time in 36 years after breaking through the "2026 North-China World Cup 3rd Asian Qualifier."

As a result of the draw for the third Asian qualifying round for the North and Central America World Cup held on the 27th, UAE was in Group A along with Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea.

While Iran, which has been seeded, is classified as the strongest team in the group, the UAE is expected to compete with Qatar and Uzbekistan for second place in the group.

"I think it was a very difficult group due to the high level of the opposing team," Bento said through the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on the 29th. "But it's not bad to play in a familiar environment without a lot of long-distance travel."

The UAE will try to make the World Cup finals for the first time in 36 years since the 1990 Italy Games.

The number of participants has increased from 32 to 48. The number of tickets allocated to the Asian continent has also increased from 4.5 to 8.5.

In the third Asian qualifying round for the World Cup, the first and second place in each group will go straight to the finals.

The third to fourth place in each group should seek the remaining tickets through Asian and intercontinental playoffs.

Bento said, "We have more chances to make the World Cup finals than in the past, but that's the same for everyone. Uzbekistan and Qatar will feel the same way."

"Our goal is to advance to the World Cup finals. We need to think about what we will prepare to achieve this," he stressed.

The UAE will start its third qualifying round with an away match against Qatar on September 5. It will then have a home game on September 10.

"The first and second rounds against Qatar and Iran are not easy," he said.

Bento led Korea to the second away round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. 바카라사이트