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DUBAI: A dream delayed or never destined to materialize?

Such thoughts are flooding through disconsolate UAE minds after Tuesday night’s 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat at Qatar’s charged Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.

The foremost concern is how to psychologically manage a further series of exacting playoffs — beginning with next month’s doubleheader with Iraq. And, if they advance, concluding with March’s intercontinental dates.

This week, a return to the globe’s biggest sporting stage for the first time since 1990 was just one game away. That prospect of an immediate salve for an expectant nation is gone forever.

It was lost amid a chaotic, double-digit second-half injury time against 10 men and preceding pain of conceding twice via set-piece headers.

Wider debates should also be undertaken in due course about how the Whites approached the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to 26 Playoffs Group Stage.

They stuttered into life to eventually prevail 2-1 against unfancied Oman, after initially falling behind to Al-Ain center-back Kouame Autonne’s own goal through an inadvertent deflection.

Possession was controlled without generating chances against Qatar in a match from which only defeat needed to be avoided, before Akram Afif’s exceptional pair of free-kick deliveries sparked hopes of traveling to the US, Canada and Mexico.

Appropriate solutions could yet lead to boundless — and deferred — joy next spring. None more so about how impactful “super sub” Sultan Adil can play a larger role after Tuesday’s sublime half volley halved the disadvantage.

“This is a disappointing result,” said frustrated UAE head coach Cosmin Olaroiu, who had been appointed to great fanfare amid Sharjah’s triumphant 2024/25 AFC Champions League Two run.

“We controlled the match and put pressure on our opponents. In the second half, we conceded an early goal.

“Football is sometimes unfair, and we must now enter a new phase and strive to return to the top of our game to secure our chances.

“It’s unfortunate that this is where we’ve come to. We have to fight for our chance, and we have to learn from our mistakes going forward.”

The task ahead cannot be sugarcoated. Another quartet of ominous fixtures loom, the UAE are highly unlikely to be seeded moving forward, taking the total qualifiers for the 2026 cycle to a formidable 22 if successfully navigated from this position.

Find a way past Graham Arnold’s Iraq in the AFC’s double-headed fifth round and potential opponents drawn from each federation, bar UEFA, await in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

The pool of possible semifinal and final opponents in Mexico in March 2026 thus far is guaranteed to include CONMEBOL’s Bolivia and OFC’s New Caledonia.

A single CAF contender will emerge from Gabon, D.R. Congo, Cameroon or Nigeria. In CONCACAF, a Curacao invigorated by their own exhaustive naturalization program and perennial World Cup entrants Costa Rica are currently well-placed to claim the two spots.

A scan of the current FIFA World Rankings for these 10 nations — six will ultimately compete in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament — has the UAE (67th) in sixth spot. This is not good news when only two World Cup berths will be earned.

November’s AFC rivals Iraq are also placed higher (58th) and acquitted themselves well in Tuesday’s goalless draw in Jeddah from which Al-Hilal center-back Hassan Tambakti had to produce a series of remarkable challenges to carry ������Ƶ through to the finals.

To have any chance of success, the UAE must be flawless from this point. Central to this target is selection. This is a squad still discovering its identity because of naturalization’s revolving door.

With FIFA rules requiring five years of residency to be eligible, Al-Wahda forward is now Caio Canedo, a 59-cap veteran, while recently qualified Al-Wasl magician Nicolas Gimenez is finding his way on four caps.

Both are well-established ADNOC Pro League performers, but international football is different. And a glaring gap exists at center-forward.

Sharjah’s Caio looked lost and out of position when forced up top against Qatar. Adil is rarely utilized there by Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club because of Iran superstar Sardar Azmoun, but an international record of eight strikes in 15 caps merits re-examination.

Al-Ain left-back Erik looked more daring off the bench than Wahda’s Ruben Canedo, while Fabio De Lima was hooked at half-time against Oman. He was a late substitute against Qatar despite previous heroics, and it feels wasteful to have the gifted Al-Jazira center-midfielder Abdullah Ramadan collecting splinters on the bench.

This group feel stronger as a collective than the preceding “Golden Generation” that fell just short in 2018 and 2022. The rarefied excellence of AFC Players of the Year Omar Abdulrahman and Ahmed Khalil, however, is not present, not to mention the ruthless finishing of 85-goal Ali Mabkhout.

A better blend between established and fresh squad members is essential.

In Olaroiu, they boast a manager who has collected 20 major trophies across Asia. His genius must be at its sharpest to achieve World Cup qualification from this point.

The task ahead, though, demands more than experience — it requires conviction, stability and belief from a team still defining its identity. If those elements align, the dream may only be delayed, not denied.