⚽ The Pharaohs in Al Ain: The lights at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi will be on tomorrow to witness Egypt’s matchup with Uzbekistan in the Al Ain International Cup semifinal, kicking off at 6pm.

The FIFA-affiliated Al Ain Cup will feature four national teams who have already booked their tickets to the 2026 World Cup — Iran, Cape Verde, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. Because it is in the official FIFA agenda, results will impact the participating teams’ world ranking.

Iran will be facing Cape Verde at 6pm today, with the victor advancing to meet whoever comes out on top between Egypt and Uzbekistan in the final on Monday. The losing sides will fight for third place the same day.

Our U-17 homegrown team will be taking on Switzerland in the Round of 32 in the youth World Cup in Qatar at 3pm on Friday. Egypt’s Young Pharaohs reached the knockout stages after beating Haiti, drawing with Venezuela, and falling to England in the group phase. They managed to collect four points to squeeze through as one of the best third-placed teams.

The European World Cup qualifiers roll on this weekend. All matches will kick off at 9:45pm, save for those noting otherwise:

  • France vs. Ukraine (Thursday);
  • Ireland vs. Portugal (Thursday);
  • Moldova vs. Italy (Thursday);
  • England vs. Serbia (Thursday);
  • Luxembourg vs. Germany (Friday);
  • Poland vs. the Netherlands (Friday);
  • Croatia vs. Faroe Islands (Friday);
  • Switzerland vs. Sweden (Saturday);
  • Kazakhstan vs. Belgium (Saturday, 4pm);
  • Georgia vs. Spain (Saturday, 7pm).

Who will represent Africa and Asia in the global playoff? The runners-up from African and Asian World Cup qualifying groups are gearing up for the continental playoffs, with just one team from each confederation ultimately reaching the global playoff for a World Cup spot.

In Africa: Nigeria will be going head-to-head against Gabon at 6pm today, while Cameroon will take on DR Congo at 9pm. The victors will meet in the continental playoff final to determine who advances to the playoffs.

In Asia: The UAE will host Iraq in the first leg of their matches at 6pm tonight, with the return leg scheduled for next Tuesday. The aggregate champion will make it to the global playoff.

International friendly matches we’re keeping an eye on this weekend:

  • Egypt’s B team vs Algeria’s B team (Friday, 4pm);
  • Angola vs. Argentina (Friday, 6pm);
  • Saudi Arabia vs. Côte d’Ivoire (Friday, 6:30pm);
  • Tunisia vs. Jordan (Friday, 6:45pm);
  • Morocco vs. Mozambique (Friday, 9pm);
  • Brazil vs. Senegal (Saturday, 6pm);
  • United States vs. Paraguay (Sunday, 12am).
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