United Arab Emirates manager Mahdi Ali was full of praise for his players after they progressed to the semi-finals of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup on Friday.
The UAE pulled off a dramatic penalty shootout victory over their much more fancied rivals Japan in the quarter-finals in Sydney to make it through to the final four for the first time since 1996 when they were beaten in the final by Saudi Arabia in Abu Dhabi.
Ali Mabkhout gave UAE an early lead before Gaku Shibakasi responded in the 81st minute which sent the game into extra-time before Ali's side saluted 5-4 on penalties to send them into the semi-finals where they will meet hosts Australia on January 27.
In the wake of the victory, Ali spoke of the fight and character his players showed to defeat the reigning champions who dominated large portions of the contest at Stadium Australia.
"I said yesterday that it would be a tough game," said Ali after the historic win.
"We played a fantastic game against Iran (in the final group stage fixture), but we lost at the end of the match.
"Today, I told the players that we don't always have to play very nice football to win, sometimes you have to play with your heart and your spirit and we worked very hard to win this game."
The former Al-Ahli midfielder and manager was rejoicing in the triumph over the Blue Samurai but admitted all the focus would now go into Tuesday's vital clash with the Socceroos.
"Winning against Japan, the winner of the last Asian Cup, is a great thing and it will give the players more confidence and more motivation for the next game," he added.
"We fought for 120 minutes in this game and thanks to God we won this game.
"We don't have much time, so we have to get together again to do a good job in the next match."
