A four-goal show from De Lima left Qatar reeling as UAE completed a double on their arch-rivals.

It was a night to forget for Qatar as Fabio De Lima’s spectacular four goals plus a composed finish from Yahya Al-Ghassani handed UAE a colossal 5-0 win in Abu Dhabi’s Al Nahyan Stadium.

De Lima’s impressive haul saw him score complete his hat-trick with a sumptuous free-kick before the break, then add another just nine minutes into the second half.

Al-Ghassani, who created trouble in the opposition box all night long and bagged an assist in addition to winning a penalty, then sealed the tie with less than 20 minutes to play.

Both sides had come into the tie level on points needing a win to keep the pressure on Uzbekistan who currently are second – which ensures a direct qualification spot.

A win for the UAE has made their grip on third place stronger, with Paulo Bento’s side now having 10 points from five matches, compared to fourth-placed Qatar’s seven.

Much like their campaign so far, Qatar never got going in the match and failed to gain momentum throughout, and being overwhelmed by early goals.

Head coach Bartolome Marquez Lopez had asked for “100 percent focus” ahead of the tie, alluding to momentary lapses as the cause of the opening day 3-1 defeat against the Emiratis.

The lapse, however, came earlier this time around as UAE took the lead in just the fourth minute, capitalising on a poor pass from Ibrahim Al-Hassan and a sluggish recovery attempt from Tarek Salman.

Al-Ghassani lynched the loose ball and found Brazil-born Lima up front to make it 1-0 in no time.

Reeling from an early setback, Qatar sought to slow the game down and manage Bento’s high-pressing tactics.

It did work for a brief period for Marquez Lopez’s side, who seemed to slowly get back into the game, keeping possession in a game they’d end up with 68 percent of the ball.

Akram Afif set Mohammed Waad up for a shot after making a wonderful accelerating run, yet the Al Sadd full-back hit the post from a tight angle. The goal would not have counted even if it went in, however, as Ahmed Fathy had committed a foul in the build-up, later confirmed by the referee.

That was the closest Qatar came to scoring in the first half, with UAE re-kindling their momentum to hit the crossbar in the 32nd minute through Al-Ghassani.

It then poured for the men in maroon as Lucas Mendes — the hero from the 3-2 win against Uzbekistan last week — was caught napping inside the box.

The Brazil-born defender then tripped Harib Abdullah in a desperate foul to give away a penalty, which De Lima calmly converted after sending Meshaal Barsham the wrong way.

If two goals were not enough, De Lima had a special one left in his bag to ruffle Qatar’s feathers.

The forward sumptuously converted a curling free-kick from almost 30 yards, over the Al Annabi wall, to complete his first national team hat-trick.

In a desperate attempt to get back in the game, Qatar’s head coach Marquez Lopez then made four changes in the second half, bringing in a pack of attackers, including veteran striker Mohammed Muntari, aggressive full-back Homam El-Amin, winger Yusuf Abdulrisag, and Ismail Mohammed.

The night was not done for De Lima, who scored his second penalty of the night, this time down the middle to keep Barsham guessing yet again.

It was Barsham who gave away the penalty this time though, after trying to compensate for Qatar’s sluggish defence with a step-out but instead catching Al-Ghassani in the process.

With the scoreboard already at 4-0, Qatar had a brief window of opportunity when Fathy beat UAE keeper Khalid Eisa from distance in the 62nd minute, only to hit the crossbar.

To cap off a remarkable evening for the home side, 26-year-old Al-Ghassani then executed a calm finish after overrunning a looped through-ball.

With almost 20 minutes to play, Bento’s side were 5-0 up against Qatar, who were playing their first game in UAE against UAE since the 4-0 drubbing in the 2019 Asian Cup.

Qatar have now lost three games in Group A so far, and will have to realistically take the indirect route to the World Cup.