“I am so happy with the result. It was our first win, and I am honoured to have played a role in this historic moment,” said Dat. “The match was incredibly important to us, and we were determined to finish the game on a winning note.”

Appearing in the competition for only the second time, Vietnam will next face Malaysia on Tuesday, who suffered a 6-3 defeat to 2015 champions Oman and the 30-year-old is hopeful that the team’s work ethic, complemented by a little bit of luck, will see his side through to the next round.

“We worked unbelievably hard to win against Bahrain, and I think if we keep this up, we can make it to the last eight.

“From now on, we must ensure that we are all physically fit and stay focused. But with the fast nature of the sport, anything can happen at any moment, so I hope luck will also be on our side.”

Bahrain, whose knockout stage hopes suffered a blow, will now have to beat former champions Oman on Tuesday to qualify.

“Vietnam posed significant challenges for us, and we could not perform at our highest level,” said team manager Bader Shamsan. “We made numerous errors that cost us dearly, and we will try to overcome this setback in our next match.

“We have a good chance of qualifying, and while we are up against a strong team that has the experience of having participated in the World Cup, I think we are a good match for them due to our familiarity with each other’s games.”