Ajdin Hrustic’s late volley deflected off Ali Salmeen, and the UAE’s Great Hope was dashed.
Rodolfo Arruabarrena’s side were beaten 2-1 by Australia at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan on Tuesday, Australia just about doing enough, the perennial World Cup participants thrust to within one match of a fifth successive global finals.
For the UAE, a 32-year wait widens to 36, at least. Another World Cup cycle has come and gone, extinguished not far from where the Netherlands meet Senegal on November 21 to kick off Qatar 2022.
A winter World Cup, the Middle East’s first, will not have another Gulf nation, after all. Instead, either Australia or Peru will snatch the second-to-last of the 32 available slots.
All the way until that point, it felt almost close enough for the UAE to touch. Having not ventured this far into qualification in more than two decades, they were behind and then level and, with six minutes remaining, behind again. This time, there would be no rapid response.
So Australia emerged triumphant, when they simply outlasted the UAE to see the job through. Their opponents collapsed en masse at the final whistle, their World Cup dream crumbled even if they did put up a heck of a fight.
Harib Abdallah, lively winger and the game's outstanding combatant, departed in floods of tears. No matter the effort given - and it was mighty - it will surely be a while before the disappointment washes off.
It was Abdallah who supplied the spark throughout the first half. He had its only two real chances. Both came after he was set free down the left, and as the angle narrowed considerably, Abdallah could only fire straight at Mathew Ryan in the Australia goalkeeper. To be fair, the Real Sociedad No 1 had left no gap at his near post, with the second save coming via a sturdy left hand.
At the other end, Australia threatened in the loosest sense of the word. Save for a wicked Craig Goodwin free-kick that towering centre-back Kye Rowles failed to connect properly with, the UAE were largely untroubled.
Right at the beginning of the second half, the same combination produced the same result: Abdallah surged forward, then Ryan repelled him down low. Moments later, the contest had lift-off. Martin Boyle escaped down the right, pulled the ball across the UAE six-yard box and, reacting quickest, Jackson Irvine had the most straightforward of finishes.
To their immense credit, though, the UAE responded almost immediately. On 57 minutes, Abdallah – who else? – raced forward and crossed into the Australia area. The ball evaded Ali Mabkhout, but fell invitingly at Caio Canedo’s feet, leaving the forward to smash high into the net. In a flash, the UAE were level. Four minutes separated the respective goals.
Yet, nearly as swiftly, Australia spurned a golden chance to seize back the lead. However, the unmarked Goodwin somehow side-footed the ball over the crossbar. The UAE breathed a collective sigh of relief. On 79 minutes, Khaled Essa saved low from Boyle’s half volley.
Then, the hammer blow. An Australia corner fell to Hrustic on the edge of the area, with the Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder’s thumping volley cannoning off Salmeen and beyond Essa. The UAE had six minutes to rescue their World Cup dream.
Arruabarrena threw on Omar Abdulrahman at the death, the 2016 Asian player of the year long past his vintage and still some way short of full fitness, but it had little effect. His last misplaced pass signalled the end of the match.
The end of the game and the termination of the UAE’s World Cup hopes. They should hold heads high following a commendable effort. It was, though, to be in vain.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Stamp duty timeline
December 2014: Former UK finance minister George Osbourne reforms stamp duty, replacing the slab system with a blended rate scheme, with the top rate increasing to 12 per cent from 10 per cent:
Up to £125,000 - 0%; £125,000 to £250,000 – 2%; £250,000 to £925,000 – 5%; £925,000 to £1.5m: 10%; Over £1.5m – 12%
April 2016: New 3% surcharge applied to any buy-to-let properties or additional homes purchased.
July 2020: Rishi Sunak unveils SDLT holiday, with no tax to pay on the first £500,000, with buyers saving up to £15,000.
March 2021: Mr Sunak decides the fate of SDLT holiday at his March 3 budget, with expectations he will extend the perk unti June.
April 2021: 2% SDLT surcharge added to property transactions made by overseas buyers.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
