Adil's late goal helps UAE pip N.Korea to keep WC qualification hopes alive

The UAE sacked Portuguese Paulo Bento on Wednesday, the morning after his team kept alive their hopes of direct qualification to the World Cup with a last-gasp win over North Korea in Riyadh

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Sultan Adil's late goal kept UAE's hopes of automatic qualification alive after they secured a last-gasp 2-1 win against North Korea in their AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to 26 Group A match on Wednesday.

Adil scored deep into stoppage time to secure the win that cut the gap to second-placed Uzbekistan in Group A to four points ahead of the meeting between the two countries in their penultimate round mid-qualifier on June 5. Iran booked their spot at next year's global showpiece after a 3-2 draw with Uzbekistan.

UAE seized the early control and went ahead after only five minutes when Fabio Lima finished his first international goal. Habib Abdalla played the ball behind North Korea's defence with Kim Yu Song's attempted clearance bouncing off goalkeeper Kang Ju Hyok to allow Lima to pounce on the rebound and tuck home the opener.

Paulo Bento's side and North Korea pinned in their own half with Fabio Fernandes going close in the 15th minute with a diving header that had Kang beaten but was just slightly off target.