A sloppy Lebanon lost 4-2 to the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, but still progressed to the next stage in World Cup qualifying thanks to a loss by nearest rival Kuwait.
Lebanon was forced to rely on South Korea beating Kuwait 2-0 in order to finish second in Group B and make it through to the final ten in Asian qualifying.
The Emirates team, which had lost all five of their previous third-round qualifiers, capitalised on Lebanon’s mistakes.
Basheer Saeed and Ali Al Wehaibi twice put the hosts ahead before equalisers from Mahmoud El Ali and Hassan Matouk. Ismail Matar restored the United Arab Emirates lead in the 69th minute and Saeed scored his second in the 79th to secure the win.