Sport

UAE defeat Nepal 4-0 in FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers

07 Jun 2024

The UAE continued their perfect run in Group H of the Preliminary Joint Qualification.

The UAE continued their perfect run in Group H of the Preliminary Joint Qualification - Round 2 for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 with an emphatic 4-0 win over Nepal at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium on Thursday.

The Whites had already booked their place in Saudi Arabia 2027 and in the next round of World Cup qualifiers, and will now go into the final match of the group against Bahrain in Dubai in pursuit of the full marks.

The young forward opened the scoring for the Whites after just 12 minutes with a flying header. Suhail was left unmarked at the far post and he powered-in a header after Abdullah Idris whipped a cross from the left to set him up.

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Just two minutes later, the 21-year-old doubled his tally. Ali Saleh delivered a pinpoint pass behind the Nepali defence. Suhail controlled it then applied a composed finish past goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong to make it 2-0.

Chemjong had to be at his best to deny the Emiratis a third goal when Saleh fed Mohammed Al Baloushi inside the box, and the Al Ain midfielder side-footed it low, only for the Nepal goalkeeper to make a diving save.

Saleh could have produced an extraordinary goal just before the break after going on a solo run from the left, dancing his way past four defenders before firing from just outside the box, only for Chemjong to produce another save to limit the damage to two goals at the break.

The young Al Wasl winger did eventually get his goal eight minutes into the second half. A fine passing move saw playmaker Tahnoun Al Zaabi feed Saleh down the left and he cut inside before rifling into the top corner for 3-0.

Mohammed Al Mansouri came close to marking his international debut with a goal when Idris set him up with a cross from the left, but the 18-year-old overhit his first-time finish, sending the ball high over the crossbar from a few inches out.

With 15 minutes left on the clock, 19-year-old Hazem Mohammed scored the pick of the goals, adding the UAE’s fourth of the night in incredible style. The younger spotted the Nepali goalkeeper slightly off his line and sent a lobbed effort from 35 yards out into the back of the net.

WAM