Back in the nation’s top job after a seven-year absence, Abramov watched on as his side proved far too strong for their West Asian opponents, with five different players getting on the scoresheet to delight the 28,000 fans at Pakhtakor Stadium.

The White Wolves’ win was in stark contrast to last month’s disastrous 2-0 loss to Palestine in their opening Group D tie, which cost former boss Hector Cuper his job, but the new man in charge refused to be carried away by the one-sided score line.

Abdulfattah Asiri scored twice while Abdullah Al Hamdan added the third as Saudi Arabia registered their first victory after having opened their qualifying campaign with a 2-2 draw against Yemen last month.

Five different goalscorers and a consummate display throughout helped secure the much-needed victory for Uzbekistan, one which should go some way towards easing memories of the White Wolves’ surprise 2-0 loss to Palestine in their opening game en route to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

By way of contrast – and in the wake of draws against both Singapore and Saudi Arabia – the defeat signalled a first loss in three for Yemen who had been forced to travel to Central Asia without suspended striker Mohsen Hasan.

It was top vs bottom going into the game as Saudi Arabia had drawn with Yemen 2-2 in their first game and sat at the foot of the group with a single point, while Singapore had also collected a point with the same score against Yemen, then beat Palestine 2-1 to top the group with four points.

The Akshumkar were irresistible against the Southeast Asians, registering their biggest ever win as a national team as veteran midfielder Edgar Bernhardt bagged the first hat-trick of his career.

The result was much needed, putting their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying campaign back on an even keel after last month’s 1-0 defeat to Tajikistan in Dushanbe, and their boss praised his charges for an excellent night’s work.

Yusuf Abdurisag’s first-half goal and a late strike from Karim Boudiaf helped seal all three points for Sanchez’s charges on a night when, despite the damp conditions, they maintained their push to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

With a crucial trip to second-placed Oman looming large on Tuesday, the Spanish tactician was left in doubt as to the importance of the victory following a job well done for 2019 AFC Asian Cup winners at Dhaka’s Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Karim Ansarifard scored four, Sardar Azmoun three, Mehdi Taremi and Mohammad Mohebi two each with Ahmad Noorollahi, Hossein Kanaani and Mehrdad Mohammadi also on the scoresheet as Team Melli took another step towards qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.