The nation's euphoric football fans are already planning travels to London to watch the Under 23 national team in the 2012 Summer Games, but a final and formidable hurdle looms, in Uzbekistan, before the UAE's young men can book their passage to the Olympics.
The Uzbeks may be chastened by a 2-1 loss to Iraq in Doha this week, but they still have an opportunity to retrieve their position at the top of Group B.
Consider:
Uzbekistan's record in group games contested in their capital, Tashkent, in this round is two played and two won, both by 2-0 scorelines.
Uzbekistan are on the rise as a football power. Their senior team already are through to the final round of 2014 World Cup qualifying, and reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Asian Cup.
Weather in central Asia in the month or March can be unpleasant. The average high in Tashkent for that month is 14°C and the average low 4°C. (In Abu Dhabi, the numbers in March are 35°C and 26°C.) March is also the wettest month in Tashkent; precipitation falls on nearly half the days.
Further examination of the tiebreaking procedures used in this round indicate that the "goal difference" maths typically used to break ties have been abandoned in favour of "goals scored", according to the Football Association.
That impacts the UAE position considerably. A draw will be enough to win the group, but a one-goal defeat will not; the Uzbeks would have scored more goals and would finish top.
Mahdi Ali, the Under 23 coach, has already warned his players that their task remains incomplete, though that may have seemed to difficult to grasp given the level of celebration following the 1-0 victory over Australia on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the FA's technical committee met to plan the campaign ahead of the March 14 game.
It is expected that the team will play at least one friendly match, and it may come about in Turkey, where the team are likely to train ahead of trip to Tashkent.
The players have been given time off, and will not play for their club sides before reconvening for training on Wednesday next.
When Uzbekistan played the UAE in Al Ain in November the match ended in a scoreless deadlock, and the Emirati coach rued several good missed chances in a match his side seemed to dominate.
The UAE were awarded three goals via a forfeit from Iraq. In five matches they have scored only two of their own, one in each of their victories this month. Ahmed Ali scored against Iraq and Omar Abdulrahman found the net against Australia.
Even if the UAE lose in Tashkent, their qualifying hopes would not be dashed.
They would finish second in the group, and join the runners-up from the other two Asia groups (Oman or Qatar (Group A), and Syria or Bahrain(Group C) in a round-robin tournament in Vietnam in late March.
The winner there would play Senegal, Africa's No 4 team, in a play-off in Coventry, England, in April, with the winner going to the London 2012 event via a back door.
The Emiratis certainly would prefer to enter London via the front door, but no one suggests their assignment in Tashkent will be an easy one.
