Qatar qualified for football’s 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over the United Arab Emirates thanks to second-half headers from Boualem Khoukhi and Pedro Miguel.

It marks the first time that Qatar, which lost all three group-stage games when it hosted the 2022 tournament, has advanced through qualification.

The victory put Qatar atop Group A in the fourth round of Asian qualification, ahead of the second-place United Arab Emirates (UAE), which now moves on to the fifth round and playoffs. Oman was eliminated after finishing third in the group.

Qatar’s best first-half chance came in the 30th minute, when Mohamed Al-Mannai’s header bounced just wide of the UAE goal.

Two minutes into the second half, Khoukhi opened the scoring by heading in a free kick from Akram Afif past goalke

See Full Page