Jefferson Tabinas and Sandro Reyes struck against Maldives but Cuadrat admitted he had targeted more goals.

“We needed three goals, but we couldn’t make that,” said Cuadrat. “We deserved to score a minimum of one, two, three goals more.

“We did the job to get a more comfortable victory, but we have to understand that football is like this sometimes, and it was a short result for us.”

With the reverse fixture on Matchday Two having ended in a draw in Capas, Tajikistan only have to avoid defeat to take the sole ticket from the group to the Finals but Cuadrat believes his side showed their desire against Maldives and will deliver on Matchday Six.

“From the first minute, they showed that they wanted to go for the game, and I really saw that the work paid off. It’s a clear message, we need to win in Tajikistan.”