The UAE’s chances of direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup suffered a body blow as they lost to Qatar in Doha.
Second-half goals by Boualem Khoukhi and Pedro Miguel at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium sent the hosts through to a second successive appearance at the finals.
It meant they topped the three-team play-off group, and so secured automatic qualification to the main event next summer in North America.
The fact the UAE finished second, by dint of their win over Oman in the first game on Saturday, means they could also still make it. They will now enter a convoluted play-off process involving teams from other continental federations.
What had started as a carnival atmosphere among the army of travelling fans from the Emirates ended in quite the opposite.
The previous night, the two sets of fans had mixed freely together in good-natured marches in the centre of Doha. The UAE’s emotional loss, though, was too much for some to take.
After both goals, plastic cups and bottles were thrown from the away section of support. After Miguel’s goal, it was worse, with some fans wading over the perimeter fence.
Several of those who entered the field of play were forcibly removed by security guards and police.
It was all so different to the start of the evening, when the overriding emotion had been one of optimism about the UAE’s first appearance at the World Cup in 36 years.
When the gates opened, three hours before the 8pm kick-off time, the first Emiratis in the queue raced as fast as they could to get to their stand.
The allocation the UAE were given was meagre. It was estimated that there were as many as 20,000 Emiratis in Doha for match day. They had around 1,000 tickets between them.
All sung raucously, including one tune that taunted their opposition’s “rented fans”.
When Qatar’s players arrived, an hour and 45 minutes before the start, and went for their acclimatising walkabout on the pitch, they seemed more taken by the noise coming from the UAE end than anything else.
By the time of kick-off, all the gangways and aisles of the UAE section, as well as the seats, were filled.
The fact the national team’s line-up was much changed was understandable. Their epic fightback against Oman had only concluded less than 70 hours before kick-off against Qatar.
What was striking about all the changes was that it meant a shift in formation. The UAE had brought about that comeback by using a wildly attacking 4-2-4 in the second half against Oman.
They started in a far cagier set-up against Qatar. The thinking was understandable. A draw would have been enough for the national team to qualify.
Also, bringing in Ala Zhir into the backline and having Marcus Meloni patrolling the midfield would help quell the threat of Akram Afif, the Qatar danger man.
The first incident of the game was Julen Lopetegui, the Qatar manager, getting laid out by one of his own players.
Assim Madibo, the midfielder, crashed into a tackle on Ali Saleh and, in the process of booting the ball out of danger, smacked it straight in the face of his coach from point-blank range.
Lopetegui was sprawled out on the floor. When he eventually got to his feet, he had a red nose and cheeks.
The opening exchanges were racked with tension. Nicolas Gimenez and Lucas Pimenta twice went close for the UAE. Khalid Essa between the posts at the other end had to be sharp to keep Qatar out twice.
The sides went in at half-time level. It would have suited the UAE for it to stay that way.
But parity did not even last five minutes beyond the restart. Khoukhi, Qatar’s centre-back, soared to head in the opener from a free-kick conceded by Saleh.
In the stands, the reaction was an angry one. Khoukhi went to celebrate in front of the UAE support, to which they did not take kindly.
It led to a confrontation with some of Qatar’s substitutes and support staff, who appeared like they wanted to go and sort out the issue.
The fury spilt over when Miguel scored the second – again from an Afif free-kick. This time it needed intervention from security personnel to sort.
The ill feeling bled on to the field, too. Tarek Salman was shown a straight red card for a reckless tackle.
Sultan Adil pulled one back deep into injury time, but it was not enough for the national team.
