Shah Alam: The UAE left it late to see off a resilient Timor Leste and make a winning start to their 2018 FIFA World Cup/2019 AFC Asian Cup joint-qualifying campaign on Tuesday, when Omar Abdulrahman’s 80th minute winner saw the 2015 AFC Asian Cup semi-finalists secure all three points from their Group A opener.
The considerably lower-ranked Timorese, who had made an impressive start to the second preliminary round after holding Malaysia to a 1-1 draw last Thursday, held out their more illustrious opponents until the Al Ain superstar broke the deadlock with ten minutes at the Shah Alam Stadium left to play.
Victory sees the UAE go level on three points with Gulf neighbours and three-time AFC Asian Cup winners Saudi Arabia, who needed a stoppage-time goal to see off Palestine and make a winning start to their joint-qualifying campaign last week.
The participating teams will compete according to a double round robin format, with the Round 2 qualification matches being held between June 11, 2015 and March 29, 2016.
The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup.
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