Qatar were consigned to a 2-0 loss in front of thousands of home fans by the Central Asians.

‘Maroons shocked us in the opener’ screamed a headline in local Arabic newspaper Al Sharq, which also pointed out that Wisam Rizq was the pick of the lot.

Al Raya said: ‘Weak first-half, second-half full of mistakes’. The newspaper slammed the team for “entering the stadium with no identity and losing by a two-goal margin.”

English language dailies Gulf Times and The Peninsula also gave big play to the opening ceremony, spectator interest and Qatar’s defeat.