"We were up against a better team on the night. There is no reason for my team to be disappointed and I can’t fault them,” said the Frenchman.

"They played well but couldn’t score from the chances they created. This has been a problem for a while and it continues to be.

“Malaysia was different and we managed to score five against them. Uzbekistan were strong in defence and you don’t get many opportunities, and with such teams, you just can’t afford to miss even a half chance."

Victorious coach Mirdjalal Kasimov, meanwhile, felt his side’s victory will provide the ideal platform for the upcoming World Cup qualifying match with Bahrain on 11 February.

Farhad Tadjiyev’s header on the half-hour mark proved the difference between the sides in the Group C clash and provided some much-needed cheer for the Central Asians following a World Cup campaign that has seen them pick up just one point in their opening three games.

Kasimov hopes his side can now take the confidence from the triumph at Sharjah Stadium into games with Bahrain and then Qatar, on 28 March.

"It wasn’t the greatest performance but the result was important,” Kasimov said.

"We really needed this win after a disappointing run in the World Cup qualifiers where we have one point from three matches.

"We play Bahrain in two weeks and this was good preparation for that game. This group consists of only three teams and two will qualify so our focus was more on getting the team back on track in the World Cup qualifiers."

Kasimov also praised the resilience of his side, underlining it had been a closely-contested encounter.

"The UAE weren’t an easy team to beat, particularly at home,” he added.

“They tried everything and came very hard at us after we scored first. I think we did very well in defence, which was well organised.

"We attacked at the start because we came with winning in mind. We created a few chances early in the game to score first. We used the long ball to good effect and attacked from the two flanks.”