“We put five against them but we should have put in some more,” he said. “It’s a good way to start overall and very important for our confidence as a win like that sets us up for better performances to come.”

The 19-year-old, who also netted twice against Afghanistan in the Qualifiers, is pumped up to add more goals to his name. 

 

“I think I played well,” he said. “I could have gotten a hat-trick but let’s save it for the next game.”

Australia will next take on Qatar on Saturday while Kyrgyz Republic play China PR. 

Kyrgyz Republic’s Emir Ernisov admitted his side’s plan against Australia did not work out.

“The Australians are fast and good with one-on-ones,” said the 19-year-old midfielder. “They’re also big and muscular, but I think this is not the reason why we lost; we lost in our heads.”

The Central Asians have not progressed past the group stage in their previous two AFC U20 Asian Cup appearances. Ernisov, however, is eager for them to bounce back. 

“We could have played better but we have two more games to go. We will never give up because we are Kyrgyz Republic.”