The FIFA World Cup, sometimes called the Football World Cup or the Soccer World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the first tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II.
The tournament consists of two parts, the qualification phase and the final phase (officially called the World Cup Finals). The qualification phase, which currently take place over the three years preceding the Finals, is used to determine which teams qualify for the Finals. The UAE have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on one occasion in 1990 where they lost all three games.
As of 18 November 2025, UAE has once again failed to qualify for the final tournament as the team drew 1–1 on its first leg and losing 2–1 on the final leg against Iraq.
The impact of qualifying for the World Cup
Numerous nations view their involvement in the World Cup as a strategic move to increase their likelihood of hosting the event in the future. Countries that compete in the tournament have a 17% greater chance of securing the bid for hosting the World Cup. Hosting this prestigious event yields substantial economic advantages and promotes tourism. With its sights set on the National Sports Strategy 2031 objective of enhancing its involvement in multiple international competitions, the United Arab Emirates is eager to capitalize on this occasion.
UAE national team in the World Cup qualifiers
1986 World Cup qualifiers
In 1986, the UAE national football team embarked on its first-ever journey in the World Cup qualifiers. The team competed against several other nations in their qualifying group, including Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Despite their best efforts, the UAE team could not secure enough wins to progress to the next stage of the qualifiers. Nevertheless, this experience marked an important milestone in the country's football history, paving the way for future generations of players to represent the UAE on the international stage.
1990 World Cup qualifiers
The UAE national team made history in the 1990 World Cup by earning a place in the finals for the first time. The UAE national team started in the preliminary qualifiers and advanced to the final qualifiers topping their group with 6 points in February 1989.
In the last leg of the World Cup qualifiers, the UAE national team competed in a group that included: North Korea, South Korea, China, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Despite winning just one match against the Chinese national team with a one-goal lead, the UAE national team again managed to secure 6 points, securing a commendable second position. The top spot was taken by the South Korean national team, with 8 points.
The difficulties faced by the UAE national team
The qualification earned by the UAE national team is a historical accomplishment, not only for being their first, but also for the adversities they had to overcome during the qualifying period. A player for the UAE national team, was suspended before the last match in the qualifiers against South Korea. Along with this setback, the team persevered through adversity as several injured players required medical injections to withstand their injuries and play the match.
Despite the remarkable achievement of the UAE national team, the UAE Football Association has decided to part ways with coach Mario Zagallo. Mr. Zagallo led the team during the qualifiers, yet he was relieved of his duties only a few days after the team's successful qualification. Coach Carlos Alberto was selected to lead the UAE national football team in the 1990 World Cup finals.
Overall record
| FIFA World Cup record | Qualification record | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1930 | Not eligible to enter | Not eligible to enter | |||||||||||||
| 1934 | |||||||||||||||
| 1938 | |||||||||||||||
| 1950 | |||||||||||||||
| 1954 | |||||||||||||||
| 1958 | |||||||||||||||
| 1962 | |||||||||||||||
| 1966 | |||||||||||||||
| 1970 | |||||||||||||||
| 1974 | |||||||||||||||
| 1978 | Did not enter | Did not enter | |||||||||||||
| 1982 | |||||||||||||||
| 1986 | Did not qualify | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||||||||
| 1990 | Group stage | 24th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 7 | |
| 1994 | Did not qualify | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 4 | ||||||||
| 1998 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 13 | |||||||||
| 2002 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 31 | 20 | |||||||||
| 2006 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||
| 2010 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 24 | |||||||||
| 2014 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 16 | |||||||||
| 2018 | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 37 | 17 | |||||||||
| 2022 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 31 | 16 | |||||||||
| 2026 | 20 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 16 | |||||||||
| 2030 | To be determined (TBD) | To be determined | |||||||||||||
| 2034 | |||||||||||||||
| Total | Group stage | 1/22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 135 | 61 | 28 | 47 | 230 | 143 | |
- * Denotes draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.
| United Arab Emirates's World Cup record | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First match | United Arab Emirates 0–2 Colombia (9 June 1990; Bologna, Italy) | ||||
| Biggest Win | — | ||||
| Biggest Defeat | West Germany 5–1 United Arab Emirates (15 June 1990; Milan, Italy) | ||||
| Best Result | Group stage in 1990 | ||||
| Worst Result | Group stage in 1990 | ||||
Head-to-head record
| Opponent | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
| West Germany | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0.00 |
| Yugoslavia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0.00 |
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0.00 |
1990 FIFA World Cup
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Yugoslavia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Colombia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
UAE vs Colombia
| United Arab Emirates | 0-2 | Colombia |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Redín 50' Valderrama 85' |
UAE | Colombia |
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West Germany vs UAE
Ismaïl Mubarak got the only goal for the UAE in the first minute of the second half when he latched onto a ball in the box after a mistake by a German defender and hit a low left footed shot into the net.
| West Germany | 5–1 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Völler 35', 75' Klinsmann 37' Matthäus 47' Bein 58' | Report | Ismaïl Mubarak 46' |
West Germany | UAE |
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Yugoslavia vs UAE
Thani Jumaa got the only goal for the UAE in the 22nd minute when he headed home from six yards after a cross from the left.
| Yugoslavia | 4–1 | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Sušić 4' Pančev 8', 46' Prosinečki 90' | Report | Thani Jumaa 22' |
Yugoslavia | UAE |
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Record players
Nine players have been fielded on all three occasions, making them record World Cup players for their country. Among them are twin brothers Eissa and Ibrahim Meer.
| Rank | Player | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adnan Al Talyani | 3 |
| Mubarak Ghanim | 3 | |
| Hussain Ghuloum | 3 | |
| Nasir Khamees | 3 | |
| Eissa Meer | 3 | |
| Ibrahim Meer | 3 | |
| Abdulrahman Mohamed | 3 | |
| Muhsin Musabah | 3 | |
| Ali Thani Jumaa | 3 |
Top goalscorers
Two UAE players scored one goal each at the 1990 World Cup.
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Khalid Ismaïl | 1 |
| Ali Thani Jumaa | 1 |
See also
- Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup
- United Arab Emirates at the AFC Asian Cup
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