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It's a case of winning the battle of the Middle East for Iraq and the United Arab Emirates when they take the pitch for the Asian Cup third/fourth place playoff at Hunter Stadium on Friday.

Iraq are using the match as a springboard to the future with forward Younus Mahmoud confident they are laying a platform for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

"I know they (South Korea) won and went to the final but we won also, we won 20 (experienced) players," said Mahmoud.

"They will benefit the national team for the next 10 years."

Both teams have had memorable tournaments and will be looking to go out on a high similar to when they caused the upsets of the tournament in the quarter-finals.

Iraq took centre stage when they banished next-door neighbours Iran in a drama-laden match in Canberra.

Though they won through in a penalty shootout, the match was highlighted by an epic gaffe by Australian referee Ben Williams who issued Iran defender Mehrdad Pooladi a second yellow for time-wasting, before halftime.

The UAE needed less controversy to cause the upset of the tournament when they beat Japan in front of 20,000 fans at ANZ Stadium.

Catching the Samurai Blue napping early they then parked a bus that was the size of an A380 in front of their goal for 110 minutes before also scoring their win on penalties.

Both teams faltered 2-0 in their semi-finals, UAE to the Socceroos and Iraq to South Korea.

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Iraq look to World Cup qualifiers