Hilal's men had been 2-0 down with just eight minutes remaining in the all-important play-off for third at the AFC Beach Soccer Championship Thailand 2019, but two goals in three minutes from Al Bulushi took the match to penalties, where Oman prevailed 2-1.

"Now I can breathe," said the Omani head coach, who guided the West Asians to the Finals in 2011 and 2015.

"It was not an easy game. As I have said, I respect any team, and the game was tough. There was only chance if you wanted to go to the World Cup, and today was the chance for two teams."

Takaaki Oba was the man who slammed home the winning penalty, after Masuyaki Komaki and Ozu Moreira scored Japan's goals during a gripping and high-quality decider.

UAE valiantly fought back from 2-0 down thanks to two goals in two minutes from Ali Mohammad, but the West Asians couldn't find a third, meaning the match was decided by spot-kicks.

Both sides will represent Asia at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay, along with Oman, who won the third place play-off earlier in the day.

Oman had been 2-0 down with just eight minutes remaining, but a rapid-fire brace from Sami Al Bulushi forced a shootout, with Talib Hilal's side prevailing in dramatic fashion.

Having reached the semi-finals for the first time, Palestine's loss means their dream of a maiden Beach Soccer World Cup appearance in Paraguay ends in heartbreaking fashion at the final hurdle.

Ozu was voted the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while his nine goal-haul in Japan's six matches also saw the towering star claim the Top Goal Scorer Award, one ahead of teammate Shusei Yamauchi.

The dual awards are the latest in a long line of accolades for the Brazilian-born Ozu, who has been voted one of the world's 'Top Five' at the Beach Soccer Stars Awards for four of the last five calendar years.

He was also voted best player in the 2013 and 2015 editions of the Asian Beach Soccer Championship, which were staged before the tournament came under the AFC's umbrella.