#9 The United Arab Emirates – 1990
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Brazilian Mario Lobo Zagallo used his World Cup pedigree (2x winner as a player, 1x winner as a manager) to take the United Arab Emirates to Italia 90. UAE were handed a tough group alongside Kuwait in the AFC World Cup qualification stage 1, with Pakistan being the whipping boys.
UAE and Kuwait traded single goal victories, which meant that their performances against Pakistan would determine which team went through.
Pakistan would produce a spirited display in Islamabad, losing to Kuwait by a single goal and only by two goals in Kuwait City. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, proceeded to thrash Pakistan 9-1 over two legs to proceed to the next round on goal difference.
The 6-nation final round would also involve the likes of South Korea, Saudi Arabia and China and wasn’t expected to be easy for UAE. By the time the final fixtures came about, South Korea had already qualified with UAE a point ahead of China who were, in turn, a point ahead of North Korea and Qatar, with all teams having a chance of progression.
Qatar would crush China’s dreams with two goals in the last three minutes and with North Korea beaten by already eliminated Saudi Arabia, UAE were able to qualify with a plucky 1-1 draw with South Korea.
At the World Cup, UAE would lose all their games and finish bottom of their group – but would score two goals. No matter as it was reported that the UAE Royal family presented the entire team with Rolls Royces for qualifying for the World Cup.
