Matias Palacios’s brilliant early goal set up Al Ain's win over Al Wasl which sent them back to the top of the UAE Pro League.
The domestic season is set up for a thrilling finale as the side from the Garden City go head-to-head with defending champions Shabab Al Ahli at the top of the table.
The end of the campaign has been given added intrigue by the situation regarding Iran’s participation in the Fifa World Cup.
It appears increasingly unlikely Iran will travel to the United States to play in the competition this summer.
Ahmad Donyamali, Iran’s minister of sport and youth, has insisted that Iran will not be taking part after the US killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Considering that this [US] regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” Donyamali said on state television earlier this week. “Our boys are not safe, and conditions for participation do not exist.”
Then, on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said the Iranians would be welcome, but in terms that suggested they would be anything but.
“The Iran national soccer team is welcome to the World Cup, but I really don't believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
If Iran do boycott, it is possible the UAE could replace them. Iraq are the next highest ranked Asian side who are yet to qualify for the World Cup.
They are due to play an intercontinental qualifier play-off in South America later this month, although their participation in that has been clouded by travel disruption caused by the conflict.
If Iraq win that, they would qualify. That would leave the UAE as the next highest ranked Asian side. If Iran were to forfeit their place and it was offered instead to another Asian team, that would likely be the UAE. However, Fifa have not disclosed the process for deciding a replacement.
The situation adds another layer of complexity to the business end of the domestic season, but even without it, the campaign is enticing enough with Al Ain and Shabab Al Ahli battling it out for the title.
The latter – fuelled by the excellence of their Iranian players – had returned to the summit with a thrashing of Kalba on Wednesday night.
A day later, though, Al Ain leapfrogged them back to the top with an impressive 2-0 win over rivals Al Wasl at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
Palacios gave them the perfect start with a fine, curling effort from outside the box, before Yahya Ben Khaleq doubled their advantage after 20 minutes.
“I always try to shoot and help the team,” Palacios said in his TV interview after the game. “I like to give assists when I can. I scored a nice goal and I am happy for me but also because I helped the team to get the three points.
“I’m happy to help the team. We will fight until the end. Every game is a final and we need to continue to work hard.”
There are seven games remaining. Al Ain hold a one-point advantage, and face third placed Al Wahda next, on Tuesday.
“It [will be] a tough game,” Palacios said. “We have seven more games and we know every game is a final.
“We are going step by step and we will continue with the same spirit until the end.”
While Al Ain were maintaining the pursuit of the title, Wahda themselves all but dropped out of the race as they were beaten by relegation-threatened Baniyas.
The 1-0 loss saw Lucas Pimenta, a key figure in the UAE national team’s defence, suffer injury.
The Wahda centre back limped out of the ground on crutches with his left foot in a medical boot after twisting his ankle.
He is due to undergo a check for ligament damage on Friday. The injury would make him a doubt if UAE were to assume Iraq’s place in an intercontinental play-off.
The defeat was the latest misstep by a Wahda side who started the season in fine fashion but have struggled since the departure of manager Jose Morais to Sharjah.
“In football we don’t want to search for excuses,” said Dusan Tadic, the Wahda playmaker. “It is not nice to say this happened because of this or this.
“We have a big responsibility and it is normal in the season that you have ups and downs. We were also a little unlucky with injuries to very important players.
“Of course, having three coach makes in difficult, and all of this affects the team. Also, our performance dropped and this has influenced everything.
“We cannot search for excuses and we everyone to look at ourselves and think what we could do better for the team. This is the only way.”
