“I want to first congratulate my country, Turkmenistan, its people and the fans for always believing in us. It was one the toughest matches for the team. This win also gives young Turkmenistan players the chance to dream big.

“Myradov is one of our regulars in the team. He got injured during the first game against Uzbekistan and we’re lucky to have him back and score two vital goals. When we trailed by two goals, my players decided to change their approach to the game.

“This shows that my team have very strong character and they believe they can do it. Coming into the game, we knew that we only needed a draw to advance into the quarter-finals. That’s the reason why we had planned to play strong in midfield with fast attacks.

“These players have heart and they showed that in their performance today.”

Qatar head coach Nicolas Cordova cut a disappointed figure after seeing his team concede two goals, which saw them exiting the tournament.

“I'm absolutely disappointed with the result today,” said Cordova. “We started the match well and were leading by two goals but in the end, we conceded twice and missed our chance to qualify into the next round. 

“We dominated the game but I have no explanation for giving up the two-goal advantage we had. It’s not fair to blame a single player for this result. But we have to accept it."