The Southeast Asians began their campaign on home soil with a 3-1 win over Chinese Taipei which saw the dynamic Witan Sulaeman scoring twice and impressive midfielder Egy Maulana Vikri catching the eye at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

With Indonesia off to a winning start, Sjafri feels there is still more to come from his young charges who could secure their ticket through to the knockout phase with another three-point haul.

The Group A result on Friday leaves the Bruno Pinheiro-coached side in a precarious position, with another loss to host nation Indonesia on Sunday potentially spelling the end of their challenge for a second Asian U-19 title, but Waad believes Qatar's story is only just beginning.

"(Against United Arab Emirates) we played a very good match and performed very well," said the 19-year-old, whose precise corner kick led to Qatar's goal in the 3-1 defeat.

The 16-year-old enjoyed the experience of a lifetime on Thursday, making his international football debut in front of a roaring crowd in the illustrious Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta.

Not bad for a first trip to Asia.

By virtue of his mother's heritage, Sandberg is part of the Chinese Taipei squad participating in the AFC U-19 Championship Finals for the first time in 44 years, and he clearly enjoyed his opening bow on the international stage, despite his side's 3-1 loss to host nation, Indonesia.

The Southeast Asians were made to dig deep against a side making its first appearance at the tournament for 44 years, with goals from Witan Sulaeman – his second of the game – and Egy Maulana Vikri eventually ensuring a 3-1 win for the hosts despite Chinese Taipei drawing level at one point.

“It was a great victory and I want to thank my players for their endless effort until the very last minute,” declared Sjafri.

“Our opponents played with a compact defence which certainly caused us some issues in the first half, but thanks to a change in tactics after the break we managed to reduce the pressure on ourselves somewhat by attacking more from the flanks.

Goals from Ahmad Fawzi and the impressive Ali Saleh provided a welcome start to the UAE’s campaign in Group A, one which sees them occupying second spot behind hosts Indonesia who beat Chinese Taipei 3-1 to assume pole position.

Although not entirely happy with every aspect of the display against their regional rivals, Balleti believes there were enough positives to underline the potential that exists within the Emirati squad.

The victory handed the Southeast Asians an ideal start to the competition against a side they had, for long periods, struggled to break down at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

The result sees Indra Sjafri’s charges go top of the Group A table ahead of the United Arab Emirates who beat Qatar 2-1 earlier in the day.

The talented 18-year-old produced a deft assist and a superb goal to hand his side the perfect start to their Group A campaign with games against Chinese Taipei and host nation Indonesia still to come for head coach Ludovic Batelli’s charges.

After a bright start in sultry conditions, Qatar fashioned the first chance of the game, midfielder Abdollah Ali fizzing a shot narrowly wide of the target with four minutes played.