Desert Derby: UAE vs Iraq Opens the World Cup Playoffs in Asia
12 November 2025
The Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi will welcome a Gulf showdown between the United Arab Emirates and the visiting Iraq, on the Thursday night that kicks off the Asia playoff for the 2026 World Cup.
The UAE will play at home in front of their own fans, hoping to seize a positive result that could give them the edge ahead of the return leg in the race to Qatar 2026.
Meanwhile, the Black and Red of Iraq travel with intent to secure a solid result in Abu Dhabi to ease the task in the return leg and push toward World Cup qualification.
The following lines outline how to watch the UAE vs Iraq match in the Asia playoff for the 2026 World Cup.
BeIN Sports, the Qatari broadcaster, holds the rights to AFC World Cup qualifiers for 2026, and for this fixture the game will be shown on beIN SPORTS 2.
For online viewing, fans can stream via the TOD TV app. BeIN subscribers can also watch through BeIN Connect.
The commentary for the match has been assigned to Essam Al-Shawali, bringing his characteristic energy to a high-stakes Gulf clash.
The match is scheduled for Thursday 13 November 2025, with kickoff at 20:00 in Saudi Arabia and Iraq time, and 21:00 in UAE time, at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
So set your reminders: this is one leg you won’t want to miss as the teams chase a direct path to the World Cup in 2026.
Punchline time: If this playoff were a movie, the trailer would end with “Coming soon: extra time, penalties, and a soundtrack powered by a thousand crowd chants.”
Punchline two: If goals were as easy as headlines, the UAE and Iraq would have already opened a bakery—because every shot seems to rise to the occasion and crumble under pressure at the moment of truth.
