Fattal, who netted twice in the first two minutes as Lebanon edged Thailand in overtime to give them the crucial two points that took them through to the last eight, got the first of his treble in the last minute of the second period with his side already 2-1 up.

A Mohamad Merhi double (8th and 13th) gave Lebanon the initiative and while the Uzbeks reduced the deficit seven minutes after Merhi’s second, Sarvar Kholmurodov’s 20th minute goal was the only time the Central Asians would register on the score board.

Fattal regained Lebanon’s two-goal lead in the 24th minute and after goalkeeper Mohamed Choker weighed in with the fourth two minutes later the 29-year-old scored the second of his treble in the 27th minute before rounding off the impressive 6-1 win with three minutes of the match remaining.

Lebanon, who are appearing in only their second FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup-qualifying campaign after finishing eighth at the 2013 continental championship, will take on Oman in Friday’s semi-finals.

Interestingly, both Oman and China defeated Lebanon at the last Asian Beach Soccer Championship, which was also played at Doha’s Kattara Beach, with the Lebanese losing out to a single Yaqoob Al Alawi goal in the fifth-place semi-final against the Gulf Sultanate before being hammered 10-5 by the Chinese in the seventh-place playoff.

The top three finishers at the AFC Beach Soccer Championship will represent Asia at the 2015 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Espinho, Portugal from July 9 to 19.