A 1-1 draw was made between United Arab Emirtaes and Japan, when UAE's substitute, Ismail Alhammad scored a late goal on Thursday.

Japan scored 1-0 when Shinji Kagawa was left unmarked near the net and changed Atsuto Uchida's cross in the 72nd minute for his first international goal.

Five minutes later, Alhammadi brought both the teams on equal levels, when a low deflected shot from the top of the area beat the goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki.

The two teams considered match as a preparation to qualify for the next round of the world cup.

Japan would be playing its first competitive match on Wednesday in South Korea with Uzbekistan and UAE, under new coach Dominique Bathenay.

Japan has already achieved three points in Group A, which is one behind leader Qatar. UAE has no point in Group B, after it faced home defeats from North Korea and Saudi Arabia.

The ones, who will come in the top two of the two five-team groups, will be the lucky ones, as they will automatically qualify for the 2010 tournament in South Africa.