After a 1-1 draw with Oman in the first of their two matches in the playoffs for the AFC Asian Qualifiers for the 2012 London Games, Syria went into Tuesday's match at the My Dinh Stadium needing nothing less than a victory.

And things began well for Almeida's side when Yasser Shahen latched on to a long clearance from keeper Ibrahim Alma and calmly lifted the ball over Uzbek custodian Akbar Turaev to give the Syrians a 14th minute lead that they held until the 73rd minute when Kenja Turaev levelled the contest with a close-range header.

And as the Syrians chased the goal they needed to keep alive their hopes of meeting Senegal in the AFC/CAF Playoff in Coventry next month Oleg Zoteev scored with three minutes left on the clock to set up a decisive showdown between Uzbekistan and Oman on Thursday.

"We planned this game well and controlled the match for 85, 86 minutes but we lost the goal in the last five minutes because maybe our defensive line was very tired," Almeida said at the post-match press conference.

"We had a strategy to control Uzbekistan but it just didn't work out for us.

"We played very well against a strong Uzbekistan team who caused us a lot of problems in the last half hour. They took their chances and we were caught out late in the game."

Almeida quickly came to terms with the loss that ended an impressive campaign from a Syrian side greatly affected by the social and political upheaval currently blighting the Middle East nation and remained hopeful for the footballing future of the players.

"I want to congratulate my players as all the players in the group have been working very hard for the past year and a half," Almeida said.

"Of course it is very disappointing for all the players who have worked long and hard. It's disappointing for the players, the coaches and the officials but we look to the future. It's not just about the results it's about working to prepare a team for future tournaments."