UAE have only competed in the finals of one World Cup, which came back in 1990, when they lost all three of their matches to exit the competition in the group stage.

Paulo Bento's side have been impressive during this qualification campaign, winning six and drawing one of their seven games, scoring 19 times in the process and conceding just three goals.

UAE actually fell behind to Qatar in their section opener on Thursday, but they scored three times in the second period, including twice in the final 10 minutes, to secure all three points courtesy of a 3-1 success.

The national team comfortably finished at the top of Group H in the second qualification round, picking up 16 points from their six matches against Bahrain, Yemen and Nepal.

UAE have only ever beaten Iran on one occasion, which came back in September 1997, and they have lost each of their last six games against Tuesday's opponents.

The last meeting between these two sides came in January 2004, with Iran running out 2-1 winners in the Asian Cup, and they have only conceded once in their last six games against Qatar, which is an indication of their recent dominance.

Iran were 1-0 winners over Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, with Mehdi Taremi netting the only goal of the contest in the 34th minute.

Amir Ghalenoei's side finished top of Group E in the second round of qualification, picking up 14 points from their six matches, with their record during qualification for the 2026 World Cup standing at five wins and two draws from seven games.

Iran have been present in the finals of six World Cups, including each of the last three, but they have never managed to make it past the group stage.

The national team will be the favourites to finish at the summit of this particular section, although they were not at their best against Kyrgyzstan last time out.