'We deserved this': Abdullah joy after UAE stun South Korea to stay in World Cup race

In the end, it was comfortable. Three clear points between the UAE in third and Iraq in fourth, plus a goal difference so substantial that it essentially amounted to another point besides.

So no need to stress, right?

Given the way they managed their smash-and-grab raid on South Korea, it did seem as though the UAE’s players had ice on their minds to go with the fire in their veins.

Okay, so they gave up 78 per cent possession to their gilded opposition, who had long since secured their own passage to a World Cup for the 10th successive time.

The UAE themselves are still a long way from being able to toast a similar achievement. But, thanks to their 1-0 win over the previously undefeated Koreans on a thrilling night at Maktoum Stadium, they still have skin in the game.

There are now two matches left between the UAE and a place at the World Cup, across the Arabian Gulf in Qatar in November. Both eliminators.

First, a playoff against Australia. Navigate that, and there is the prospect of a last-chance decider against the fifth-placed side from South American qualifying.

UAE coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena watches the victory. EPA

So, still work to do. But time to celebrate, too, given how they saved themselves in Oud Metha. And well they did. At the end of the tumultuous 90 minutes the players lined up in front of their fans, and both serenaded each other with an impassioned rendition of Ishy Bilady.

How the UAE had managed what no other team had done in a year – beating South Korea – was remarkable.

This was a side shorn of a variety of usual starters. That included Ali Mabkhout, the striker who had scored more goals than Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski, or anyone else so far in qualifying for Qatar, but who was absent