Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will rekindle their World Cup ambitions this week when they clash in a two-legged Asian Confederation playoff that will determine who advances to the intercontinental play-off for the final berth at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The first leg takes place on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, with the return match scheduled for Basra, Iraq, four days later.

The aggregate winner will move on to the intercontinental playoff — the final hurdle to secure the 48th and last qualification slot for the expanded tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Both sides enter the tie still nursing the disappointment of missing automatic qualification. Iraq narrowly lost out to Saudi Arabia last month, denying them a return to the World Cup for the first time since their sole appearance in 1986.

The UAE, who last graced the global stage in 1990, saw their hopes dashed by Qatar in the earlier qualifying phase.

Iraq will rely heavily on the experience of coach Graham Arnold, the Australian tactician who guided his home nation through a similar play-off route to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“We’re doing everything we possibly can for Iraq to make sure we qualify,” Arnold said while unveiling his squad last week. His team has been boosted by the return of talismanic striker Aymen Hussein from injury.

“I know a lot of fans and media were disappointed after the Saudi game, but I was proud of the players’ work ethic,” Arnold added. “Defensively we were excellent — we didn’t concede against Saudi Arabia or Indonesia — but we must improve in front of goal.”

Indeed, Iraq’s goal-scoring record remains a concern, with only two goals in four matches since Arnold took charge in May. The UAE, under Romanian coach Cosmin Olaroiu, have been slightly more productive, scoring four times in their last four fixtures after replacing Paulo Bento.

For both nations, the stakes could not be higher. Victory over the two legs will keep their World Cup dream alive — defeat will bring it to an end for another four years.

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World Cup ticket holders can expect to spend big just to park their cars at next year’s tournament, with prices on FIFA’s official website reaching as much as $175 per parking pass.

First reported by the Athletic, opens new tab, the figures have astonished sports fans in the famously car-dependent United States, one of the tournament’s three hosts, along with Canada and Mexico.

A “general parking” pass for the July 14 semi-final in Dallas was listed at $175 on Tuesday, while the price for parking at a group-stage match was listed at $75.

Parking at a quarter-final match in Kansas City on July 11 would cost ticket holders $125 while the price for group-stage matches was $75.

FIFA, which used dynamic pricing for the first phase of ticket sales for the tournament, had group-stage seats starting at $60.

Only a handful of the 16 World Cup venues across Canada, Mexico and the United States had parking passes listed for sale online as of Tuesday.

Mexico City, which will host the first match of the tournament, and New York/New Jersey, which will host the final, were among the cities that did not have parking available yet.

FIFA received more than 1.5 million ticket applications from fans within 24 hours of the presale draw being launched in September for the World Cup.

-Reuters

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The old, but familiar disruptive tendencies have again crept up as Nigeria’s World Cup play-off preparations have been hit by boycott of training.

It was in similar pattern that the Super Eagles eventually crashed out at the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup ahead of their duel with France.

A repetition has unfolded as the team on Tuesday had its programmes thrown into disarray as players and officials of the Super Eagles boycotted their scheduled training session in Rabat, Morocco, on Tuesday.

According to BBC Africa Sport journalist Oluwashina Okeleji, the players, coaches, and backroom staff refused to train in protest over unpaid allowances and bonuses owed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The protest reportedly involves payments outstanding from both World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches, with the arrears covering as many as 30 matches.

In a post on social media, Okeleji wrote:

“None of the Super Eagles players has received their allocated allowances or bonus for reaching the 2025 AFCON and 2026 World Cup playoff.
Nigeria players & staff boycott Tuesday training ahead of Thursday’s game vs Gabon.
Tired of empty promises.”

As of press time, 23 players were already in camp in Rabat, but training grounds remained deserted throughout the afternoon session.

Officials of the NFF have yet to comment on the development. Repeated calls to the Federation’s spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, and other team officials went unanswered.

The standoff comes just two days before Nigeria’s high-stakes playoff against Gabon — a match critical to the Super Eagles’ hopes of reaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

This latest episode adds to a long history of bonus-related disputes between Nigerian footballers and the federation, often resurfacing during key international assignments.

Whether the issue will be resolved before Thursday’s fixture remains unclear, but the boycott has cast a shadow over the team’s focus and morale ahead of the decisive encounter in Rabat.

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