Buoyant UAE look to seal World Cup spot with victory over Qatar

The UAE will be brimming with confidence when they face Qatar in their AFC Asian Qualifiers-Road to 26 Playoffs Group A tie on Tuesday.

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The Emiratis staged a late fightback to overcome Oman 2-1 on Saturday to lead the Group A standings and only need to avoid defeat at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium to secure automatic qualification.

Cosmin Olaroiu's second-half adjustments proved decisive, with substitutes Caio Canedo, Yahia Nader and Harib Abdalla making an immediate impact to spark the turnaround against Oman and the Romanian tactician can be expected to tinker with his starting lineup for the Qatar clash.

While Olaroiu was not in charge at that time, he will be determined to replicate UAE's results in the previous stage against Qatar - a 3-1 victory followed by an emphatic 5-0 win - as UAE seek to seal a return to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1990.

Marcos Meloni and Caio Lucas delivered the goals for the Emiratis against Oman while Ali Saleh, Nicolas Gimenez and Fabio Lima were influential throughout and Olaroiu's side will fancy their chances despite Qatar having home ground advantage.