Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)
The UAE coach Paulo Bento’s fears of going into a clash against North Korea proved to be exactly as he feared: a banana-skin clash with a 1-1 result in their Asian qualifier to the FIFA World Cup at home denying the national side the perfect chance to go on top of Group A on the Road to 2026.
On a day when the top-two teams, Uzbekistan and Iran, played out a goalless draw, people from the dugouts at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain who put their names on the scoresheet in the second half of the game with the far-East Asian side finding the equaliser four minutes before time.
It was an agonising end for Bento’s boys and the local fans after substitute Yahya Al Ghassani’s strike in the 66th minute put them ahead while local goalkeeper Khaled Eisa also proving to be an equally worthy hero for the player of the match, at least, for almost all of the regulation time.
Abdulla Hamad sent Al Ghassani clear on the right with the substitute - on the pitch for just two minutes - slotting the ball past Kang Ju-hyok. Barely four minutes later, Khaled Ebraheim conceded a penalty for a foul on Ri Il-song.
Eisa, however, stood tall to deny Han Kwang-song but the Emirati goalkeeper could not stop Jong Il-gwan’s header from crossing the goal line in the 86th minute.
Victory would have meant UAE take three points and join Uzbekistan atop the group before going into the next clash against the same inside five days. The top two teams from each of three groups qualify automatically for the Finals while the next-best third-place teams go into a fourth play-off stage for an outside chance.
Eisa pulled off at least three saves, including a penalty from Kwang-song, only for Il-gwan to level the tie.
Korea found themselves under early pressure, with UAE crafting a chance when Harib Abdalla Almusharrkh initiated a move that found Bruno but custodian Ju-hyok was quick off his line to collect the ball. The Emiratis had another chance in the 19th minute when a surging Abdulla Hamad sent a cross that a diving Bruno de Oliveira just failed to connect to.
Bruno continued to roam freely inside the opposition’s camp, first setting up Harib Abdalla, who skied his effort, and then seeing Khalifa Al Hammadi head just over the bar from his set-piece delivery.
Eisa, on the other hand, had to tip over Il-Song’s effort from inside the box in the 49th minute before foiling Kim Yu-song’s free-kick three minutes later.
A penalty for Korea was overruled after a counter-attacking move saw substitute Kim Kuk-jin’s bursting run inside the box halted by Kouame Kouadio.
Elsewhere, the Central Asian derby saw Iran going down to 10 men in the second half following Saleh Hardani’s sending off but there was to be no winner in the evenly-matched contest as the two sides moved up to seven points.
The match took a turn in the 57th minute after Australian referee Shaun Evans referred to the pitchside monitor, which led to a straight red card for Hardani for a studs up challenge on Eldor Shomurodov.
Meanwhile, the continental body Asian Football Confederation announced that the next Group A match between Iran and Qatar, scheduled for October 15 will take place at a neutral venue in the UAE, which is yet to be confirmed.
The UAE matches have been held in Al Ain, although the national side will be in Tashkent on the same day for a decisive clash against Uzbekistan at the Bunyodkor Stadium.
In a statement released on its official website, the AFC confirmed that the decision to host the match at a neutral site was made after considering the prevailing security situation and consulting with FIFA and relevant parties. Specific stadium details will follow, but the time will be 8pm, according to the AFC.
