Hailing the resilience of his players, the UAE head coach Cosmin Olaroiu doffed his hat to the travelling fans whose passionate support played a role in the team's incredible come-from-behind victory against Oman, which kept the nation's Fifa World Cup dream alive.

Despite falling behind Oman in the 12th minute of the gripping contest through an own goal from Kouame Kouadio, the UAE held their nerve to stage a stirring fightback as they clinched a 2-1 win in the Group A match of the Asian World Cup qualifiers.

Late second-half goals from Marcus Meloni (76th minute) and Caio Lucas (83rd minute) sparked wild celebrations on the field as well as in the stands as five thousand UAE fans danced and jumped for joy at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha on Saturday.

Olaroiu admitted that the skills of his players and his tactical changes in the second half would not have been enough to quell the Oman threat if the fans had not provided the energy from the stands.

"I would like to thank our fans for their great support during the match," the Romanian head coach said after the match.

With the UAE government arranging special planes for the fans, thousands of national team supporters thronged the Doha streets one night before the game, bringing back memories of the carnival-like atmosphere at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

On Saturday, a large number of UAE fans arrived at the stadium at least two hours before kick-off.

When the game started, the fans experienced an emotional roller-coaster as Oman dominated the opening exchanges before the UAE regrouped to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.

The thrilling win kept the UAE's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup alive as The Whites now only need to avoid defeat against Qatar on October 14 to punch their ticket to next year's global showpiece in the US, Canada and Mexico.

A draw will be enough for the UAE to end their 35-year wait for a World Cup appearance after their debut at Italia 1990.

But the UAE's hopes were hanging by a thread until the 76th minute of the match against Oman on Saturday night.

Kouadio's early own goal put the team under tremendous pressure. With a mix of home-grown talent and Brazil, Portugal, Argentina and Ivory Coast-born stars, the UAE were favourites going into the match against their Gulf neighbours, who played out a goalless draw in their first game against Qatar.

Desperate for a victory in their final Group A game, Oman turned up the heat on the UAE after taking an early lead.

But the UAE weathered the storm before they slowly began to control the midfield.

"The match was very difficult, and I congratulate the players for their determination and resolve to achieve victory, which is a well-deserved and fair result that placed us at the top of the group," the Romanian coach said.

A master tactician who began his UAE stint after guiding Sharjah FC to the AFC Champions League Two title in May, Olaroiu made three changes in the second half by sending in Caio Canedo, Yahia Nader and Harib Abdalla.

The changes began to show immediate results as the UAE attacked with more vigour, penetrating the Oman defence repeatedly to create scoring opportunities.

The goals finally arrived as the tireless Meloni headed home the equaliser in the 76th minute before Caio's 83rd-minute winner with a long-range effort from the left sparked wild celebrations.

"I was forced to make a complete technical change at the beginning of the second half to change the players' mentality and achieve victory," said Olariu.

"We played a match with different personalities in the two halves, but we did everything necessary to win the match. Now we have the decisive game against Qatar."

Meanwhile, Oman coach Carlos Queiroz rued missed chances against the UAE.

"Our players created many opportunities but failed to capitalise on them, but they deserved a better result," the veteran coach said.

"Oman's chances of qualifying remain, and our fans should be proud of the players' efforts and high fighting spirit despite all the challenges."

Oman, who finished their campaign with just one point, need the UAE to beat Qatar by a big margin for a second-place finish.

A big UAE win on October 14 will keep Oman's World Cup alive as the second-placed team in Group A will face a two-legged play-off round in November against the runners-up of Group B, which has Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia.

The winner will advance to the two-legged intercontinental play-off scheduled for March to decide the final spot for the World Cup.

Olaroiu, who has yet to lose a match as the UAE's head coach, will hope to avoid this complicated play-off rounds by earning a point against Qatar, which will earn his team a historic berth at the World Cup.

But a victory over the home team will be the icing on the cake, having beaten the 2022 World Cup host twice in emphatic fashion - 3-1 in Doha and 5-0 in Abu Dhabi - in the third round of the qualifiers last year.

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