“We achieved an important and well-deserved victory based on our overall performance,” said Bento. “In terms of possession, we performed well overall but our second half display was notably stronger.

“In the second half, we created several clear scoring opportunities. It was far from easy as the opposing team put up a good fight, though we limited their chances.

“Towards the end, we could have executed better offensive transitions but overall, I’m satisfied with our performance and this victory.”

Kyrgyz Republic head coach Maksim Lisitsyn cut a disappointed figure after seeing his side suffer their fourth defeat.

“We made a lot of mistakes and the result showed in the end,” said Lisitsyn. “We followed our plan but our mistakes proved costly.

“We had chances in the second half but the UAE keeper did his job well and we just couldn’t score. We will continue to build on our performance and take it one game at a time. Hopefully, we will improve in the upcoming matches.”

UAE play Qatar next while Kyrgyz Republic will have their work cut out for them against Islamic Republic of Iran.