Emirati football fans are holding out hope that the UAE can still land its first Fifa World Cup finals appearance in 36 years after dreams were dashed in Doha on Tuesday night.
The national team missed a golden opportunity to book its place in the showpiece event – being held in the US, Canada and Mexico – after losing 2-1 to Qatar before a partisan home crowd when only a point was needed to qualify.
The UAE now faces a long and winding road to the tournament, beginning with a crunch two-leg tie against Iraq next month.
Hamad Khamis, 32, told The National that despite the defeat to Qatar, the supporters will remain behind the team and attend the next matches in big numbers to cheer them on to success.
“We will follow the team whenever they go. It is the nation's dream,” Mr Khamis said. “Despite the poor performance in recent matches, we can’t stand still and will keep supporting the players.”
Mr Khamis spoke of his frustration over the meagre ticket allocation for UAE fans in Doha. “They dedicated only 8 per cent of the stadium to the Emirati fans,” he said. "Qatar played at home in front of their supporters. It wasn’t fair. The referee had mistakes, too, that affected the result.”
The UAE now face a wait to find out what punishment they might face after crowd violence marred the match.
Looking ahead, Mr Khamis believes the national team will face a stern challenge against Iraq as they seek to stay in contention for qualification.
“Iraq hopes are stronger," he said. "They played well against Saudi Arabia. We wish to defeat them but it will be very difficult mission to accomplish.”
Isa Bin Haider, a lawyer, told The National that losing the match in Qatar was a big disappointment for all Emirati football fans but they will keep supporting the team to achieve the long-waited World Cup dream.
“We didn’t play well, the formation was wrong from the beginning. The coach made late subs,” said Mr Bin Haider. “We won’t quit supporting the team. They represent UAE and we will go anywhere on the planet to support them in their next matches.
“Reaching the World Cup is not impossible but we need to focus and change the formation. Playing defensively won’t help us to qualify. We should attack as we have nothing else to lose.”
Hamad Al Mazrouei, from Dubai, said he is not optimistic. “I’m not positive for the next round. We were very close to qualifying but the chance was wasted,” Mr Al Mazrouei, 35, told The National.
“The match with Qatar was very hard and not what people were expecting. Playing when having two chances, like a win or a draw, is always harder as the opponent will enter the pitch with one chance to win.
“Qatar had the advantage of playing in Doha among their supporters. The [UAE] players should always remember that this nation deserve to be happy and proud by qualifying for the World Cup.”
The UAE will play the first match against Iraq at home on November 13 before travelling for the decisive away fixture five days later.
The winner over the two legs will then advance to an inter-confederation play-off.
The winner will join one team each from Africa, Oceania and South America and two from Concacaf, the African football federation, in the inter-confederation play-offs next March.
Teams will be seeded by Fifa, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing one-off elimination matches. The winners of those will then face the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination games, with the winners qualifying for the global finals next summer.
The UAE last qualified for the World Cup finals in Italy in 1990, their only appearance at the tournament.
