Uzbekistan revived its 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign by beating Qatar 1-0 on Tuesday for its first win of the campaign.
Midfielder Sanjar Tursunov scored the all-important winner for the visitors in the 13th minute after being neatly fed a cross by Ulugbek Bakaev from the right flank.
Qatar pressed for the equalizer, Uzbekistan goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov parrying Muhammed Mubarak's long-range shot. Qatar captain Wesam Rizik had a good chance in the 23rd but his shot went over the bar. The 2022 World Cup host's best chance in the second half came when striker Sebastian Soria's header just missed the mark.
Uzbekistan moved into second in Group A behind South Korea.
''It's good to win. But we only have five points now,'' said Uzbekistan coach Kasimov Mirdjalal, who replaced Vadim Abramov after the loss to Iran in its first qualifying match.
''We'll play all our remaining games just like it is our last game. We did have more chances. But the early kickoff was too hard on us. We can't bring 100 per cent in such conditions. It was quite tough on our players.''
Mirdjalal believes his team has a good chance to advance despite starting the campaign with two draws and a loss.
''As far as our qualification chances are concerned, we started slowly. We played well against Iran and Lebanon but had only two points,'' he said. ''In history, you remember only the score irrespective of how you play. But if we keep playing well then we can definitely qualify from this group.''
Qatar's Brazilian coach, Paulo Autuori, said he would encourage his players to concentrate on its match next month against Lebanon.
''Honestly speaking, Uzbekistan has a good team full of experienced players,'' Autuori said. ''Football is like this. You win some, you lose some. They tried their best. From this moment, we should try to forget about this game and concentrate on the next. I'll try to cheer the players hard so that they get ready for the next match.''
Players received a taste of what it will be like to play in hot and humid conditions should there be a summer world cup in 2022. Even with temperatures at a relatively comfortable low 30s Celsius, the referee stopped the match in the first half so players could have a water break.
