The hosts beat Senegal 5-4 on penalties after overtime could not separate the two teams who were level at 3-3 on Kite Beach.

The result left the UAE narrowly third in Group 1 as they narrowly missed out on the semi-finals.

African champions Senegal earned six points from their victories over Portugal and Spain earlier in the tournament.

Portugal's 7-4 win in the Iberian derby with Spain proved crucial to keeping their title hopes alive.

The Spaniards managed to finish bottom of the group with three defeats, even with the help of current top scorer Salvador Ardil Navarro's six goals.

A rematch of the 2017 final awaits Portugal in the semi-final as they are set to face three-time champions Russia.

Russia won all three of their group games, although its opener against Japan went into overtime before Andrey Kotenev bagged the winner to make it 7-6.

A 4-3 win against Iran today secured pole position for Russia.

Both sides are looking to win their fourth Intercontinental Beach Soccer Cup title to become the competition's most successful team.

The duo sit alongside Brazil with the most trophies.

Iran - seeking its third consecutive trophy - will play Senegal in the semi-finals, who will provide a stern challenge.

Japan looked nothing like the team that took silver at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in August.

A tough loss to Russia clearly demoralised the players as they were then battered 6-1 by Iran before ending their tournament with a spirited performance against Paraguay, which resulted in a 6-4 loss.

Paraguay will face Spain and the UAE meet Japan tomorrow in the fifth to eighth place playoffs prior to the semi-final fixtures.