As he walked up to the penalty spot, Mohammed al Shehhi appeared serene. He confessed he was not.
"I felt great pressure and was very nervous," he said, "because everybody was watching me," he said.
It did not show.
Al Shehhi hit his shot low and hard and just inside the post, beyond the reach of the diving goalkeeper Kwan Min, as the UAE ended a high-tension match with a 9-8 shoot-out victory over North Korea at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China yesterday.
The victory lifted the Under 23 side into the semi-finals on Tuesday against South Korea.
Ali Kasheif, the UAE captain and goalkeeper, was outstanding between the posts throughout the game, and he made a vital save of a shot from Ro Chol Meung to leave al Shehhi to complete the job for his side.
The Al Jazira stopper and his North Korean counterpart took the field with the best records in the competition: Kwan had not allowed a goal in four games; Kasheif had conceded only one, against Hong Kong in their opener, 12 days before.
Mahdi Ali, the UAE coach, was delighted by the result and heaped praise on his players as the nation's "golden generation" team edged closer to another medal.
"Absolutely marvellous performance from my boys," Ali said.
"North Korea had proved a hard team to beat. They had a 100 per cent record of not conceding a goal and even today they were solid in their defence. Yet we had a couple of chances to score and win the game before it went into extra time.
"All credit should go to the players. They gave 110 per cent in this game. They did everything right and matched the Koreans in every department. Our defence was as solid as theirs, and the midfield moved up and down, both in attack and defence.
North Korea had been particularly impressive while progressing to the quarter-finals. The squad was built around seven players who went to the World Cup in South Africa, and they seemed on track for the gold while reeling off four consecutive victories, including a 1-0 decision over South Korea.
"This is a young team," Ali said of his side. "The Korea players are older and many of them are from their senior national team.
"I congratulate all our players and staff."
Ahmed Khalil could have put the UAE ahead in the opening minute of the second half but his effort from inside the area lacked the vital sting and was collected by Wang.
Saeed al Kathiri had another shot at the goal in the very next minute but it went straight at Wang. Khalil, the gifted striker, was later forced to leave the pitch because of an injury three minutes from time.
He was replaced by al Shehhi, who proved at the end to be a wise choice by Ali. Al Shehhi, the Al Wahda forward, is one of the more experienced players in the side but had failed to make the line-up after a poor showing against Hong Kong in the opener.
The UAE's semi-final opponents, South Korea, are three-time Asian Games champions. They defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 in extra time.
Al Shehhi sees no reason why the UAE's momentum should be halted now.
"Our target is to win the next match and reach the final," he said.
In yesterday's other quarter-final games, Iran edged Oman 1-0 and Japan beat Thailand 1-0.
apassela@thenational.ae
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
