The UAE have been drawn against Asian heavyweights Australia and Japan in the final round of qualification for the 2018 World Cup.
Mahdi Ali’s side will also take on Japan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Thailand in Group B.
The top two teams in each group qualify automatically, with the third-placed teams playing a further qualifier against the fourth-place team from CONCACAF.
Sport360 reporter Matt Monaghan said: “The key strategic match (for UAE) in the entire process is Saudi Arabia.
“The teams played each other in the second round of qualifying and Saudi Arabia came out as group winners.”
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