UAE coach boss Mahdi Ali has defended his curious decision to stick with Ahmed Khalil and substitute goalscorer Ali Mabkhout for the second Gulf Cup game in succession, insisting the Al Ahli forward's "industry" makes him an invaluable presence on the pitch.
The holders rocketed to a two-goal lead against Kuwait on Monday night thanks to a pair of exquisite finishes from the former, prior to being pegged back to a damaging 2-2 draw.
Interchanging wonderfully with Omar Abdulrahman, the Al Jazira frontman first nonchalantly chipped in then stroked home a first-time shot from the edge of the penalty box that was measured to perfection.
This display was in stark contrast to Khalil's. The 23 year old stumbled over a first-half chance and fired a number of free-kicks wastefully into the wall during the Group B clash that leaves the Whites almost certainly requiring victory against 2013 final opponents Iraq to make the semi-finals.
Eyebrows were raised when Mabkhout made way in the second half at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Khalil remaining like he did during the goalless opener against Oman.
The 23 year old struck a hat-trick in the unofficial warm-up triumph against Lebanon on November 6.
But while Mabkhout has five goals in eight Arabian Gulf Leagues appearances this term, Khalil has registered only one in the same period.
"Ismail Matar has just returned from injury and is not ready technically to participate, so I did not pay him in front of Kuwait," Ali explained.
"Ahmed Khalil tried to register and had the chances in the first half.
"The second half was very tight, there were no spaces where we could play in front of the Kuwaiti defence.
"Khalil's industry contributed to the second goal. Striker's sometimes have an important role to perform through hard work and it is not simply about the goals they record.
"I hope that Khalil is back to shake the net in the next match against Iraq."
The UAE put on a much-improved performance against group leader Kuwait, the switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation freeing superstar playmaker Omar Abdulrahman.
Issues remain at the back, two sloppy goals conceded to make Thursday's decider against the Lions of Mesopotamia a winner-takes-all event.
Ali expected his troops to rise to this challenge at the imposing King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, avoiding a repeat of the group-stage exit in 2009 that followed the UAE's only previous Gulf Cup triumph.
He said: "We are left with one game to go in front of Iraq. We will equip the players before the game in order to win and qualify for the semi-final.
"It is good that we do not need to help from anyone, as a win will be enough to qualify. The confrontation will be difficult for Iraq, who have no no choice but to win.
"Even if we had beaten Kuwait and got to to four points, this result would not have been enough for us to qualify for the semi-final.
"There is no coach that does not like to win. We tried to get the three points, but we needed a bit more luck – I'm satisfied with the performance of the players."
