Abu Dhabi: 'Together We Can' is the slogan adopted by the UAE for their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign and they thrillingly lived up to it by winning their opening Group B encounter 2-1 away to Japan on Thursday.
Ahmad Khalil scored both goals to shock the four-time Asian champions, who are ranked 25 places above the UAE at 49 in the Fifa rankings and who took the lead through Keisuke Honda's 11th-minute header.
But Japan can feel aggrieved that Takuma Asano's close-range effort after the break appeared to cross the goal-line, before being clawed away by the UAE goalkeeper, Khalid Eissa.
The Samurai Blue were also guilty of spurning a host of opportunities at the soldout, 63,700-capacity Saitama Stadium as the UAE lived dangerously throughout.
But the plucky visitors were themselves a threat on the counter-attack, with Khalil scoring two sumptuous goals, the second of which came from the penalty spot.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, tweeted his congratulations.
مبروك للأبيض ..ومبروك للإمارات .. وشكرا لأبنائنا ولمدربنا المهندس مهدي ..ودايما شعب الإمارات في فرح وفوز إن شاء الله pic.twitter.com/JmUQvQmNmd
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) September 1, 2016
Mahdi Ali's men now entertain the reigning Asian champions Australia, who beat Iraq 2-0 at home on Thursday, in Abu Dhabi next Tuesday.
The other two teams in Group B, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, are set to meet tonight.
Eissa had started in goal in place of the injured Majid Hassan and the Whites' traditional 4-4-2 line-up also featured surprise the inclusion of the Al Ahli midfielder Abdul Aziz Sanquor.
Japan, meanwhile, deployed a 4-5-1 formation, with Leicester City’s 2016 Premier League winner Shinji Okazaki leading the line supported by AC Milan's Honda and Borussia Dortmund's Shinji Kagawa.
In a frantic opening, the UAE were first to have an effort on goal when Khamis Esmail fired a drive straight at Shusako Nishikawa.
But it would be the hosts who took the lead when Honda was left unmarked in the box to head in Hiroshi Kiyotake's free-kick beyond Eissa's despairing drive.
The pace and the movement of Japan's star trio of Kagawa, Honda and Okasaki were tormenting the UAE's defence and the latter went close with a vicious, angled drive which just cleared the crossbar.
But in the 20th minute, the Whites levelled in spectacular fashion when Ahmad Khalil lashed a curling free-kick into the top corner from the edge of the box beyond Nishikawa's grasp.
It continued the muscular Al Ahli forward's prolific form, as he finished as the second top goalscorer in the last round of Asian qualifying with 11 goals. Such brilliance also helped him be named the 2015 AFC Asian Player of the Year.
Japan, though, looked capable of scoring every time they attacked and Kagawa was left frustrated when Eissa tamely parried Honda's header into his path only for it to deflect off him past the post.
The UAE were also threatening on the break, however, playmaker Omar Abdul Rahman rifling a low drive just past the post just past the half-hour mark.
At the other end, Mohannad Salem's sliding challenge denied the ubiquitous Kagawa, as the end-to-end action continued at an unrelenting pace.
Though potent in attack, Vahid Halilhodzic's side are not noted for their defensive discipline and this nearly cost them as half-time loomed.
Ali Mabkhout was inexplicably allowed to latch on to a long punt forward and unleash an angled effort, which Nishikawa palmed away for a corner.
The second half began at the same unremitting pace of the first, Eissa tipping Ryota Oshima's venmous volley over the bar.
Oshima then led to his own side's downfall when he carelessly tripped Esmail Al Hammadi to concede a penalty, which Khalil converted in audacious fashion in the 54th minute.
He emulated Omar Abdul Rahman's chipped 'Panenka' effort, which secured the UAE's penalty shootout victory over the Japanese in the 2015 Asian Cup quarter-finals.
The UAE's lead was a precarious one, however, as Japan created chances at will.
First Kiyotake failed to connect with Gotuko Sakai's left-wing cross when only yards out, then Okasaki bulleted a header against the bar from Honda's assist.
Minutes later, Japan felt they should have had a penalty of their own when Usami Takashi was shoved to the ground by Mohammad Esmail.
With 20 minutes, Ali opted to solidify his defence with the introduction of Mohammad Fawzi for Khali, who limped off.
But the move failed to have the desired effect and Japan appeared to have restored parity when the substitute Asano prodded in Honda's knockdown, which Eissa acrobatically stopped.
The ball looked to have crossed the line marginally on television replays, however.
Somehow the UAE weather the storm and broke clear themselves, with Abdul Rahman skewing a skimming effort wide.
Four minutes of agonising injury time were then survived as Ali's heroes collapsed to the ground in relief.
A top-two finish when the campaign winds up in September 2017 will guarantee the UAE progression to Russia 2018, which would be their second World Cup finals appearance after Italia 1990. If they end up third in Group B, they will meet the same side from Group A in a battle to reach the inter-confederation play-off.