Inter Milan striker Mehdi Taremi scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Kyrgyz Republic but profligacy became a problem in the game, an area in which Ghalenoei is seeking to improve his side when they face a confident United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

“In the second half, our ball circulation was good, we created opportunities and had shots on target but in general, we should have played better than this,” admitted Ghalenoei.

“Of course, it is natural, you can see that in the first game, Australia lost to Bahrain at home and Korea Republic only drew with Palestine.

“We could have scored five or six today but our offensive substitutions didn’t quite work out. We will try to show better quality in the next game.”

Making their first appearance at this stage of the qualification, Kyrgyz Republic produced a commendable performance in a tough away fixture to keep IR Iran honest throughout the match at Foolad Shahr Stadium.

Maksim Lisitsyn’s side even had chances to snatch a draw but like his counterpart, working on their finishing will be top of the agenda ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Uzbekistan in Bishkek.

“We had a difficult first half and I’m grateful to the players for continuing to fight,” said Lisitsyn. “After some reorganisation, we managed to create good moments in the second half

“We had a chance, and we are very disappointed that we didn’t use it. We didn’t use those moments well, but it’s football. Let’s prepare for the next game.”