"We achieved the result we wanted,” said Jafari. “The first game always has its own special challenges - from weather issues to the team having to be in match conditions.

"It should also be taken into account that we did not have a warm-up game but our players nevertheless played with high concentration and commitment.

“The first game is always a bit difficult, because there is a need for more coordination, and we will certainly appear better and more coordinated in the future.”

Iran certainly did not look rusty as they peppered the Singapore goalmouth with attempts from the opening whistle, leading to Fatemeh Shaban’s opener in the 19th minute with only the woodwork denying them a bigger lead going into the break.

The second half saw more clinical finishing from the Iranians, Sara Didar struck two minutes into the restart with further goals from Shaban (77th) and Zahra Ghanbari (87th) sealing an impressive start.

The win took Iran into second place, three points adrift of Bhutan who secured yet another memorable result, this time a 2-1 victory against Lebanon in the later game to stay perfect.

Kim Tae-in’s side faced stiffer opposition than the one they encountered in their opening win against Singapore but showed plenty of fighting spirit against the West Asian side.

Captain Pema Tshering struck an opportunistic first half goal before scoring again in the 86th minute, just five minutes after Lebanon had equalised through Pilar Khoury.

Kim credited the team’s togetherness as the foundation for the upset.

“We’re very happy to win the match,” said Kim. “This victory means a lot to us because it was built on mutual trust. The players fully believed in my plan and I also have complete confidence in their ability to execute it.”