The UAE left Milliy Stadium on Tuesday evening wondering what could have been after a 1-0 defeat to Uzbekistan in their latest FIFA World Cup qualifier, despite delivering a much-improved performance compared to their last outing against North Korea.
UAE manager Paulo Bento had been left unimpressed following the 1-1 draw with North Korea in Al Ain on Thursday night and was hoping for an immediate response against Group A leaders Uzbekistan.
He certainly got it from the start in Tashkent, with Yahya Al Ghassani, who earned a place in the starting lineup after scoring from the bench on Thursday, playing a lively role in a pulsating opening 15 minutes.
Just three minutes after Abbosbek Fayzullaev’s header narrowly missed the target in the seventh minute, Al Ghassani nearly broke the deadlock for the UAE with a brilliant volley.
He was denied by Utkir Yusupov, and though Caio Canedo latched onto the rebound, he didn’t connect well enough with the ball to trouble the Uzbek goal.
Two minutes later, the UAE No.10 was a danger once again, as he pounced on a defensive error to give himself another chance to open the scoring but saw his near-post effort go wide of the mark.
With just 15 minutes played, the UAE had already shown far more attacking intent than they had in Al Ain last week.
Both teams continued to press forward throughout the remainder of the half, making it all the more surprising when the referee blew for halftime with the score still locked at 0-0.
While neutrals at home likely enjoyed the back-and-forth nature of the first half, Bento would have surely instructed his players to tighten things up at the start of the second.
He didn’t get his wish, as the opening 15 minutes after the restart were arguably even more electric than the first.
Just a minute into the second half, Tahnoon Al Zaabi tested Yusupov with a long-range effort, and two minutes later, Harib Suhail squandered a golden chance, firing over the bar when clean through on goal with Yusupov off his line.
Uzbekistan responded with a flurry of chances of their own, before the game took a decisive turn in the 65th minute when Abdulla Hamad was sent off for a reckless lunge on Sherzod Nasrullaev.
The UAE protested, but Hamad’s challenge was late, high, and dangerous - leaving little room for argument.
The Whites did have a legitimate grievance eight minutes later when Khalifa Al Hammadi was penalised for handling the ball inside the box, blocking Bobur Abdikholikov’s goal-bound effort.
Replays showed the ball struck his hands, but they weren’t in an unnatural position and his body would have blocked the shot anyway. Despite the protests, referee Ning Ma stood by his decision, and Otabek Shukruov calmly slotted the penalty into the bottom corner, off the post.
Bento’s men pushed for a late equaliser, but with their numerical advantage, it was Uzbekistan who created the better chances to put the game to bed.
In the end, it finished 1-0, leaving the UAE on four points after four games, six points adrift of their opponents at the top of the table.
The UAE will continue their quest to qualify for just a second World Cup finals next month when they host Kyrgyzstan and Qatar.
