The UAE's quest to reach the World Cup, the first in 36 years, received a major boost with a dramatic late win in Riyadh.
Sultan Adil's 98th-minute diving header denied North Korea a hard-earned draw and took the UAE to within four points of qualifying rivals Uzbekistan.
UAE had gone into this game as favourites and everything looked to be running to script when Fabio Lima fired them in front inside five minutes. Fabio nipped in to finish at the second attempt after some slick approach play on the left, and expectations were that more goals would follow.
The UAE failed to build on that early lead, however, and it was no real surprise when North Korea equalised two minutes from the interval. The UAE failed to defend a corner and, after Jong Hwi-Nam’s initial header rebounded off the crossbar, Kim Yu-Song showed tremendous bravery to dive in amid flying boots to bundle the ball home.
North Korea continued to defend stoutly in a largely forgettable second half but, just as the final seconds were ticking down, UAE snatched victory from the jaws of a disappointing draw.
The top two teams in each group will automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the third and fourth place teams will qualify for the fourth qualifying round.
In Group A, Iran is in first place with 20 points, while Uzbekistan is in second with 17 points. The UAE sit third with 13 points, while Qatar is currently in the fourth place with 10 points.
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