Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the 2026 World Cup qualifying match.
The teams are separated by just one point, but their levels differ significantly. In the previous World Cup qualifiers, the UAE fought for an additional Asian spot, while Kyrgyzstan didn’t even make it to the third round. Can the visitors pose any challenge to the hosts?
United Arab Emirates
The UAE have enhanced their squad by naturalising several foreign players, thus raising their overall standard. In the previous campaign, they amassed 12 points and finished third in their group. During the 2023 Asian Cup, they reached the round of 16 but were knocked out by Tajikistan on penalties, seen as a disappointment. Presently, the UAE have lost three out of four matches, but Iran's strength was evident (0:1). They narrowly lost to an equally matched Uzbekistan due to a penalty goal. However, the UAE secured an impressive away victory over the reigning Asian champions Qatar (3:1).
Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, player naturalisation happens less frequently, and they have few star players. There is hope for Beknaz Almazbekov, a promising talent from the Galatasaray academy. However, facing stiff competition, he was released to a Kosovan First League team this summer. He currently helps the U20s in the Asian Cup qualifiers instead of playing for the senior team. Despite this, Kyrgyzstan have performed admirably, losing by more than a single goal only to Qatar, narrowly losing to Iran (0:1), and achieving a win over North Korea (1:0).
United Arab Emirates vs Kyrgyzstan Prediction
In their head-to-head encounters, the UAE have narrowly beaten Kyrgyzstan. In the 2019 Asian Cup, they scored the decisive third goal only in the 103rd minute, and in a friendly at the end of 2023, they won thanks to a 90th-minute penalty (1:0). A similar tight match is expected today.
