Baghdad: Iraq still has a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals after securing a 2-1 victory against the United Arab Emirates. Last night’s match was the second in the 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers Round 5, where Iraq hosted the United Arab Emirates. The first match ended in a 1-1 draw.

According to Thai News Agency, the first half of the match concluded without any goals. In the second half, the United Arab Emirates took the lead in the 52nd minute with a shot by Caio Lucas. However, Iraq equalized in the 66th minute when Mohanad Ali’s header deflected off a United Arab Emirates player and found the net.

The game seemed headed for a draw, but in the 90+14th minute, a VAR check resulted in a penalty for Iraq after Yahia Nader of the United Arab Emirates was found to have handballed in the penalty area. Amir Al Ammari successfully converted the penalty in the 90+17th minute, securing a 2-1 win for Iraq. This victory resulted in a 3-2 aggregate win over the two matches, allowing Iraq the opportunity to compete in the intercontinental playoffs, while the United Arab Emirates were eliminated.

In other results of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round for the European zone, Kosovo drew with Switzerland 1-1 in Group B, leading to Switzerland advancing to the World Cup and Kosovo moving to the playoffs. In Group C, Scotland defeated Denmark 4-2, winning the group and ending a 28-year wait, which sent Denmark to the play-offs. Belarus and Greece ended their match with a 0-0 draw. In Group E, Bulgaria beat Georgia 2-1, and Spain drew 2-2 with Trkiye, resulting in Spain qualifying for the World Cup and Trkiye heading to the playoffs. Lastly, in Group H, Austria drew 1-1 with Bosnia, and Romania triumphed over San Marino 7-1, sending Austria to the World Cup and Bosnia to the playoffs.