The UAE national team has all the ingredients to qualify for the World Cup

Shabab Al-Ahly player Saeed Ezzat hoped that the UAE national team would qualify for the 2026 World Cup, indicating that “Al-Abyad” possesses all the capabilities that qualify it to achieve this great goal.

Saeed Ezzat told «Emirates Today» after the victory over the Sharjah team in the seventh round of the ADNOC Professional League: “I hope that the UAE team will succeed in reaching the 2026 World Cup, as it has distinguished players with quality and strong personality, but the most important thing is that everyone works in the spirit of one team. I watched the team’s matches in the Asian qualifiers, and I think that it was unlucky in some matches, but the opportunity still exists.”

The national team will compete with its Iraqi counterpart in the Asian qualifiers for a ticket to the global playoff to complete the search for a seat in the World Cup, as the first leg will be held on the 13th of this month in Abu Dhabi at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium at eight o’clock in the evening, while the return match will be held on the 18th at the Basra International Stadium.

He added: “Football does not know the impossible, and if the team plays with a spirit of responsibility and determination, with the support of the public and everyone’s trust, it can achieve the dream of qualifying. What the team needs now is solidarity and belief in its capabilities, because it has the ability to deliver a performance befitting the name of the Emirates.”

Regarding the victory of his team, Shabab Al-Ahly, over Sharjah in the seventh round of the ADNOC Professional League, Ezzat said: “We are very happy with this important victory. We desperately needed the three points to remain in the competition for the title, and we presented a strong and collective performance, and all the players were at the highest levels of focus and determination.”

He continued: “Even in the match before the last one against Al Ain, we did not deserve to lose, as we were the best, and we missed a penalty kick, but this is football. The most important thing is that we learned from our mistakes and returned to victories, and today the team appeared with the character of a champion.”

Ezzat explained that all teams started playing against Shabab Al-Ahly in a defensive manner, and he said: “After we won four titles last season, the opponents now face us with five defenders at the back, and this makes things difficult offensively, but we work in every match to find solutions and develop our style, and return to the same strength we were.”

He concluded: “We are confident and ambitious, and all our focus now is on continuing the victories and continuing to work hard until we reach the biggest goal… which is winning championships again in the name of Shabab Al-Ahly.”

. After Shabab Al-Ahly won 4 titles last season, our opponents now face us with 5 defenders.