Fahd Al Muwallad scored in the 16th minute at the Panasonic Stadium in Kuala Lumpur to give Saudi a winning start against tricky opponents.

Uzbekistan also had a winning start, beating Pakistan 3-0 in their first match. The Uzbeks took the lead after 21 minutes through Abbosbek Mahstaliyev but were then kept quiet by the Pakistanis until the 74th minute, when Timur Khakimov made it 2-0.

Javlon Mirabdullaev made it 3-0 for the Uzbeks two minutes into injury time.

The fifth team in the competition is Kuwait, who take their tournament bow on Wednesday against Uzbekistan.

The top two teams and best third-placed side from groups A-G qualify for the finals along with the Group H winners.