UAE complete 20-team T20 World Cup lineup

United Arab Emirates have claimed a ticket to next year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, securing a top-three spot at the Asia/East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Oman.

They join Nepal and Oman who guaranteed their top three spots on Wednesday, completing the final slate of 20 teams for the global tournament.

Muhammad Waseem's side completed the job with victory against Japan, eliminating Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming's side from the qualification race.

The result also made a top-three finish mathematically impossible for Qatar and Samoa, who were hoping for a Japanese win to keep their hopes alive.

The Emiratis were relentless in the field, beginning with a direct hit run out from Muhammad Farooq to remove Abhishek Anand, with Farooq also haunting fellow opener Kadowaki-Fleming, caught on the boundary off the bowling of Haider Ali.

The Japanese struggled to regroup after a Powerplay of 25/3, with Haider claiming the key wicket of Esam Rahman (23) in a spell of 3/12 (3). The side in cherry blossom pink finally found a partnership, with No.11 Abdul Samad helping wicket-keeper Wataru Miyauchi give the Japanese a fighting chance.

Playing his first game of the tournament, Miyauchi struck a valiant 45 not out from 32 balls to move his side to 116, with Samad contributing 11 in a stand of 42.

Despite the late fightback, UAE ensured they held the upper hand early in their chase, with Alishan Sharafu and the skipper racing to 36/0 in the first three overs.

Waseem (42 from 26 balls) and Sharafu (46 from 27) did fall in the chase, though the Emiratis closed out the chase in the 13th over to spark their qualification celebrations.

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Teams
Team
                                         Qualification Path
India                                Tournament Hosts
Sri Lanka                       Tournament Hosts
Afghanistan                   Top 7 finish T20WC 2024
Australia                       Top 7 finish T20WC 2024
Bangladesh                   Top 7 finish T20WC 2024
England                          Top 7 finish T20WC 2024
South Africa                   Top 7 finish T20WC 2024
USA    T                         op 7 finish T20WC 2024
West Indies                    Top 7 finish T20WC 2024
Ireland                            ICC Men's T20 Team Rankings
New Zealand                  ICC Men's T20 Team Rankings
Pakistan                        ICC Men's T20 Team Rankings
Canada                         Americas Qualifier
Italy                            Europe Qualifier
Netherlands                  Europe Qualifier
Namibia                     Africa Qualifier
Zimbabwe                  Africa Qualifier
Nepal                       Asia/EAP Qualifier
Oman                    Asia/EAP Qualifier
UAE                       Asia/EAP Qualifier