Productivity in the UAE would have shown a marked dip around midafternoon yesterday, but it's unlikely anyone would be upset by this. For a little under two hours, the country was transfixed by the UAE's national football team taking on the might of hosts Australia in the semi-final of the Asian Cup.
As we all now know, this ended in a gallant 0-2 defeat but just being in the semi-final at all represented a victory for the UAE team. This would have been scant comfort to our home-grown heroes who had their eyes on winning not just this match but the entire tournament for the first time.
But it remains true that this team has turned heads with their performance, most notably by knocking out Japan, one of the tournament favourites who had won three of the last four Asian Cups. As they return to the UAE, they should hold their heads high, knowing that the country united behind them.
