Live broadcast…the UAE-Iraq match in the 2026 World Cup playoff

The UAE national team will receive its Iraqi counterpart at eight o’clock this evening, Thursday, at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, on a new journey on the difficult road towards qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finals, after missing a golden opportunity to qualify directly through the first Asian playoff.
Led by Romanian coach Olario Cosmin, Al-Abyad hopes to achieve a comfortable victory that will help it snatch a ticket to the global playoffs before traveling to Iraq to play the return match at Basra International Stadium next Tuesday.

The UAE national team loses the services of Fabio Lima due to injury, while Cosmin excluded a group of players who were on his list in the last playoff, while inviting others who are expected to appear in today’s match, most notably center forward Mohamed Awad.
On the other hand, the Iraqi team enters the match with the ambition of achieving a positive result that will facilitate its mission before the return match at Basra International Stadium, but it knows that things will not be easy at all.
The “Lions of Mesopotamia” suffers from some absences, most notably the absence of player Youssef Al-Amin due to injury, but coach Graham Arnold has a group capable of imposing rhythm and exploiting the defensive confusion of the national team, especially in set pieces and high pressure if it is not addressed.

“Emirates Today” will broadcast the match’s events, moment by moment, via the current link… waiting for the starting whistle:

Transmission channels

beIN SPORTS 2 channel

Tunisian commentator Issam Chawali

Online: The meeting can be followed via the TOD TV application.