In the end Australia proved to be an obstacle too great for the UAE. Naive defending saw the Whites give themselves a mountain to climb, and having gone two goals behind within the first 14 minutes, they played with neither the energy nor belief to get back into the contest.
However, Mahdi Ali’s side have much to be proud of. There will be disappointment as the side came so close to a second Asian Cup final, but there should also be a recognition of how far they have come.
When UAE Football Association (UAE FA) president, Yousuf Al Serkal, declared that the federation had targeted a last-four place in Australia, few thought it was realistically achievable.
However, that is precisely what happened – and Mahdi’s men did it the hard way, too, knocking defending champions Japan out.
Ultimately, that last-eight clash with the Samurai Blue took too much out of them, and they were unable to defend with the same focus in Newcastle as they had done in Sydney four days previously. But while the UAE ran out of steam, one subdued performance should not be allowed to distract from the very attainable aim of World Cup qualification.
Majed Nasser and Ismail Ahmed are the only members of this squad in their thirties, while only three more will have reached that milestone by the time the next World Cup kicks off.
This is far from being the last major tournament this squad plays in together, and with the qualification campaign for Russia 2018 beginning in just three months, there is plenty left to achieve.
Towards that goal, the UAE FA should stick with Mahdi, a man who has proved time and again to be able to get the best out of these players, but allow some of his better talents to fly the nest.
Watching Omar Abdulrahman toil in his two appearances against Japan and Australia, it became alarmingly obvious that he needs a move abroad to take the next step in his career. The same can also be said for namesake Amer, or Esmail, Ali Mabkhout, Ahmed Khalil and Ismail Al Hammadi.
All of these players have wonderful ability and the potential to become even better, but that will not happen if they stay in the Arabian Gulf League.
Mahdi’s side suffer when they come up against physically-imposing sides such as Australia, as anyone who watched their summer friendlies in Europe would attest.
And, the only way Omar and Co are going to correct that is by playing week-in, week-out in an environment that offers that threat as the AGL simply does not always offer the same intensity of competition as in Europe.
The UAE FA would not have the same control over their stars if they left for pastures new, but the evolution of the team demands they are encouraged to go.
The teams the UAE have struggled against – Armenia, Norway, the Socceroos – are not exactly world beaters themselves after all, and if the powers that be are serious about challenging for Asian Cups and World Cup qualification they must recognise as such.
What the Asian Cup has proven is that the UAE possess a fine set of players, with a commendable team spirit and will to win, but they cannot be allowed to stagnate.
The UAE FA has to decide whether they want to aim higher than just regional dominance.
It would be a great shame if the answer to that question was ‘no’.
