The UAE coach, Cosmin Olariu, was gracious in defeat after his team missed a golden opportunity to clinch a direct berth at next year's Fifa World Cup.

The heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to hosts Qatar in a dramatic Group A match of the fourth round of qualifiers was a bitter pill to swallow for a team that only needed a draw to end their 35-year wait for a World Cup appearance.

The UAE still have a chance, though, to reach the global showpiece as they will now face Iraq in a two-legged play-off next month with the winner advancing to the intercontinental play-off scheduled for March.

Olariu has less than a month to prepare for another round of World Cup qualifiers and motivate his men to bounce back from a demoralising defeat in Doha.

"Football is sometimes unfair, and we must now enter a new phase and strive to return to the top of our game to secure our chances,” Olariu said.

"It's unfortunate that this is where we've come to. We have to fight for our chance, and we have to learn from our mistakes going forward."

While Olariu stayed focused on football, a few questions have remained about the format used by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the fourth round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers.

Six teams had been divided into two groups of three sides each, with Qatar, the UAE and Oman competing for the top spot in Group A and Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia competing in Group B.

The group winners - Qatar in Group A and Saudi Arabia in Group B - earned direct berths at the World Cup with the runners up, the UAE and Iraq, now facing a nerve-racking play-off round in November.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia were named Group A and Group B hosts for the fourth round when the AFC announced the format in July this year.

The format clearly helped two teams - Qatar and Saudi Arabia - as they got to play all their matches at home.

Notably, both home teams also had the advantage of playing their second match (October 14) six days after the first game (October 8), allowing them enough time to recover between gruelling battles.

On the other hand, the UAE, which overcame a spirited challenge from Oman for a 2-1 win in a riveting contest on October 11, were back on the field again on Tuesday for the decisive clash against Qatar.

To compete with a well-rested home team in a crunch World Cup qualifier is never easy for a side recovering from an absorbing battle.

No wonder Oman coach Carlos Queiroz had slammed the AFC for the 'unfair' advantage it gives to the home team.

"You know the qualifiers are being played in Qatar's home. We are playing on three days' rest, Qatar with six days,” Queiroz had told reporters before his team's first match against Qatar, which ended in a goalless draw on October 8.

"If this is all about fair play for the people who made this decision, then I do not have any comments. I've worked for 40 years in football, and this is not fair play for me.

"As a coach, I'll have to accept that and my players have to accept that too.”

The former Real Madrid coach further spoke about the importance of giving a fair chance to every team in an emotionally and physically demanding event like the World Cup qualifiers.

"(Even if I was Qatar or Saudi Arabia coach) I would feel the same," Queiroz had said. "When I leave the pitch, I want to go home with the right feeling that we won the game fair and square."

Traditionally, teams in World Cup qualifiers play in a home-and-away format.

But the AFC opted for a single host for each group in the fourth round of qualifiers, with the home team getting the lion's share of match tickets for fans.

The traditional home-and-away format will return in the fifth round when the UAE host Iraq on November 13.

The return leg will be hosted by Iraq on November 18.

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