ZURICH/DOHA: The World Cup intercontinental playoffs, which will see four countries vie for the remaining two slots at the finals in November, will be staged in Qatar itself, at rhe Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.

June 13 will see the winners of the AFC play-off between Australia and UAE – from June 7 at the same venue – face Peru, who finished fifth in the CONMEBOL qualifiers.

One day later, Costa Rica, who came fourth in the Concacaf qualifiers, will play OFC champions New Zealand. Both matches will start at 21:00 local time.

Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium was formally opened on December 18, 2020, for the Amir Cup final, and recently hosted four matches in the FIFA Arab Cup 2021. Al Rayyan is the home club and the stadium features cooling technology.

The World Cup will see Ahmad Bin Ali stage six group matches and one round‑of-16 match – meaning one of the winners in June will go back there to face Japan on November 27.

According to the final draw held, the winners of the first match will be in Group D and will face 2018 champions France in their opening match. The winners of the second play-off will be in Group E and kick off their World Cup campaign against Spain.

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