UAE got off to a dream start, scoring after just 16 seconds when Hussain Yousuf slipped Sultan Nasir into the box to smash the ball home.

Vietnam spurned a great chance to equalise in the eighth minute after Le Trong Dai Nhan picked out Nguyen Van Duong with a square pass in the box but the latter ballooned his effort over the bar.

Van Duong fared better in the 20th minute, firing a rasping shot from outside the box but UAE custodian Joshua Bentley was equal to the attempt, pushing the ball out for a corner kick.

The Southeast Asian side were not to be denied four minutes before the break as Chu Ngoc Nguyen Luc curled a free-kick beyond Bentley’s dive and into the corner to send the tie into the interval on level terms.

Vietnam head coach Cristiano Roland and his UAE counterpart Majed Salem kept faith with their respective selections as they emerged for the second half unchanged.

It took Vietnam just three minutes to find the next goal, Dai Nhan with the perfect cutback for Van Duong to sidefoot the ball past Bentley.

UAE drew level in the 56th minute when Yousuf’s perseverance saw him prevent the ball from going behind before picking out Adam Mahrous, who curled a spectacular shot into the top corner.

The open game eventually turned in favour of Vietnam in the 68th minute as Nguyen Manh Cuong escaped his marker to thump home the winning goal from Nguyen Minh Thuy’s inswinging corner delivery.