A superb long-range strike from Odil Akhmedov gave the Uzbeks the lead just before the hour while Server Djeparov drove home 13 minutes from time to seal the three points.

The victory underlined Uzbekistan’s credentials as potential title challengers having shown steady improvement in Asia since first competing at the AFC Asian Cup in 1996.

And Abramov sounded out a warning to fellow Group A rivals Kuwait and China that they are yet to see Uzbekistan at their best.

“I'm very sorry for Qatar people because this was a big celebration for them," he said.

“They (the players) played great today but this is not our maximum, I still think that we can play much better.

“We got the three points today and we are happy now but we should not relax for the next match. We will enjoy this now but tomorrow we will look to the next match.

“The fact that we beat Qatar today will help us for the next game.”

Akhmedov’s memorable strike makes it an immediate contender for one of the best goals in Asian Cup history and will undoubtedly grab most of the headlines, but Abramov was quick to praise the performance of his squad as a whole.

“I think today Odil Akhmedov and all of midfield line played well while Stanislav Andreev also did very well when he came on,” he added.

The Uzbekistan team are being touted as one of the best in the last decade but being able to call upon such a wealth of talent means some players will be left disappointed having to make do with a place on the bench.

But Abramov stressed all members of his squad will play an important role for Uzbekistan throughout the course of the tournament in Doha.

“I think we have a lot of good players but now my problem is that we have many good players on the substitutes’ bench and not all of them can play,” he said.

“They are professional and they should understand that they can still contribute when they come off the bench.”

Uzbekistan are next in action against reigning Gulf Cup of Nations champions Kuwait on January 12.