With Brazilian flair! Qatar book their place at the World Cup

Asia determined this Tuesday (14) the owner of the continent's penultimate direct spot for the 2026 World Cup.

Qatar secured its qualification by defeating the United Arab Emirates 2-1 and finishing first in its group in this fourth phase of the qualifiers.

Next year’s participation will be the Middle Eastern country’s second in the history of the tournament.

The first was in the last edition, in 2022, when Qatar earned a spot as the host nation.

Legion of Brazilians

The qualification featured Brazilian participation on the field.

Born in Curitiba, defender Lucas Mendes took part in Qatar’s qualifying campaign in 13 matches, including this Tuesday’s game.

Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui brought him on in the second half, shortly after the goal that opened the scoring.

Qatar’s starting lineup included Edmilson Júnior, born in Belgium and son of former Brazilian player Edmilson Paulo da Silva. 

On the other side of the pitch, there was also a strong Brazilian presence.

The United Arab Emirates national team called up nine players born in Brazil for this FIFA window.

The Match

The goals of the game came in the second half, both from set pieces taken by Afif and headed in by defenders.

Khoukhi opened the scoring early in the second half and Pedro Miguel, a player born in Portugal, doubled the lead.

Qatar ended up with one less player on the field after Tarek was sent off in the final stretch of the match, but there was little time left for the opposing team to seek an equalizer.

What’s Left to Decide

Despite the defeat, the United Arab Emirates still have a chance to qualify for the World Cup.

The team will face whoever fails to qualify between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, who are competing for Asia’s last direct spot in the tournament.

This next clash is scheduled for November, over two matches, and the winner earns a place in the intercontinental playoff.

All Qualified Teams 👇🏽

AFC - Asia

🇦🇺 Australia - 🇰🇷 South Korea - 🇮🇷 Iran - 🇯🇵 Japan - 🇯🇴 Jordan (debut) - 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan (debut) 

CAF - Africa

🇲🇦 Morocco - 🇹🇳 Tunisia - 🇩🇿 Algeria - 🇪🇬 Egypt - 🇬🇭 Ghana - 🇨🇻 Cape Verde (debut) - 🇿🇦 South Africa 

Concacaf - Central and North America

🇨🇦 Canada (host nation) - 🇺🇸 United States (host nation) - 🇲🇽 Mexico (host nation)

Conmebol - South America

🇦🇷 Argentina - 🇧🇷 Brazil - 🇨🇴 Colombia - 🇪🇨 Ecuador - 🇵🇾 Paraguay - 🇺🇾 Uruguay

OFC - Oceania

🇳🇿 New Zealand

Allocation of Spots

• Europe: 16
• Africa: 9
• Asia: 8
• South America: 6
• North and Central America: 6
• Oceania: 1
• Playoff: 2

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 Mohamed Farag - 2025 Getty Images