The home team led 1-0 at half-time after a 37th-minute goal by midfielder Majdi Siddiq.

Qatar kept Uzbekistan at bay with solid defending and went 2-0 up in the 73rd minute through striker Majed Mohammed. Midfielder Talal Al Balushi completed the scoring in the 86th minute when Qatar went on the counter-attack.

Qatar’s Uruguayan coach Jorge Fossati was a happy man. "Everything clicked as we had planned. The goals came at the right time and the substitutions were made at the right time," he said. "I’m happy with the result."

Uzbekistan coach Rauf Inileev refused to blame his players choosing instead to congratulate the Qatari team. "They deserved to win today. They played better," he said.

Qatar host Bahrain in their next match on Wednesday while the Uzbeks host Australia on the same day.