Qatar booked a date with Japan in the AFC Asian Cup final after they beat hosts the UAE 4-0 in a gripping semifinal in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

A stirring first-half performance, which saw Boualem Khoukhi break the deadlock and Almoez Ali notch a record-equalling eighth goal of the tournament, laid the foundation for the victory which was sealed by late strikes from Hassan Al Haydous and Hamed Ismael as Qatar progressed with relative ease to Friday’s final with Japan, who had beaten Iran 3-0 in the first semifinal on Monday.

While Qatar’s success saw them advance to their first-ever Asian Cup final, it left the UAE to rue what could have been as they failed to emulate their run to the final in 1996.

Qatar duly took the lead in the 22nd minute when Khoukhi’s angled drive from 18 yards somehow found its way under Eisa’s despairing dive and into the net.

Clearly stunned by the opener, the UAE responded through an Ismail Al Hamadi header which was smartly saved by Saad Al Dossari and a similar effort from Ali Mabkhout that fizzed wide of the target shortly before the half-hour mark.

However, worse was to come for the Emiratis as Qatar doubled the lead in the 38th minute. This time, Akram Afif found Almoez who advanced into the area before firing home via a post to equal Iranian Ali Daei’s record for the most goals by a player in Asia’s premier event.

Despite being forced to defend deep in their own half for long periods after the break, Qatar remained dangerous on the break and added a third in the 81st minute when captain Al Haydous rounded off a delightful move by clipping the ball over Eisa.

After the UAE’s Ismail Ahmed was shown a straight red card late on for dangerous play, substitute Hamed Ismael rounded off the scoring in stoppage time to confirm Qatar’s place in the final.