The home side took the lead with an Ahmed Ajab header and although Pakhtakor equalised with a powerful low shot by Odil Ahmedov, the Kuwaitis restored their advantage with a Khalaf Al Salama penalty on the stroke of half-time.

Zaynitdin Tadjiyev got the Uzbeks back on level terms again with six minutes remaining but the visitors ended the match with only 10 men when Ilhomjon Suyunov was sent off in stoppage time after receiving his second yellow card.

"We achieved the most important thing for us, which is to qualify for the quarter-finals regardless of the remaining results," said Garrido.

"We had a good game and we achieved what we wanted. It is still early to talk about the next round but hopefully we will continue our good performances.

"I will not talk about my future with the team because it is still early and I don’t know if I will be with the team in the knockout stage as I received a lot of offers and I still haven’t made my decision."

Pakhtakor coach Ravshan Haydarov meanwhile, felt the referee was harsh on his side but praised Al Qadsia for their performance.

"The result is unfair and the referee was hard on our team as he treated the players in a strict way," he said.

"Al Qadsia is a good team and they are one of the top teams in the region and they had a good game tonight."

"They have good players as well. Their midfielders and strikers caused a lot of problems for us and were the main reason that they won."