Goals from midfielders Mohammed Kanno and Faisal Al Ghamdi earned the Green Falcons their second win in the group at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium against a Kyrgyz Republic side who spent the majority of the match playing with 10 men, then with nine after red cards to Aizar Akmatov and Kimi Merk in the eighth and 50th minutes respectively.

Saudi Arabia join hosts Qatar, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran and Australia in qualifying to the knockout stage with a game to spare, but Mancini insists his team, continental champions in 1984, 1988 and 1996, are not among the favourites to win the title.

“We had a lot of chances to score, yet the only problems we faced were when we were 11 v 9. We missed a lot of chances, but in the end, it was a good result,” said Mancini.

“I think Kyrgyz [Republic] were a good team, but they were playing with ten players then nine players, so it was difficult for them. I would have preferred to play 11v11. Yes, we missed many chances to score, but if we score two goals in every game, I’ll be happy.”

“We have to look at the [FIFA] rankings, and the rankings say Japan, IR Iran, Korea Republic and Australia are the top four teams in Asia. We are too far behind them. In this tournament anything can happen when you play well. We won two games and now we have to think about the next game.

“We know we have a good team; we can do well during this tournament and every game we play we want to win whether it is against Thailand or against Korea Republic or Iran or any other team.”

A second defeat in a row complicates Kyrgyz Republic’s hopes, having also been beaten 2-0 by Thailand in their opening match of the group, and now have to win against Oman on the last day and hope other results go their way if they are to reach the Round of 16 for the second time in as many attempts.

Despite the loss, head coach Stefan Tarkovic was pleased with his side’s display on Sunday, insisting the process of development in Kyrgyz football is not a short term one.

“To play against Saudi Arabia with two men less is difficult,” said Tarkovic.

“After the second red card, it was a question of how many scoring opportunities they will create and how we will challenge those situations. We showed spirit, we fought for the best result we could bring to the country and to the team till the end. We tried to create some situations to score, but 2-0 in these circumstances is not bad, but it is still a loss.”

“From my perspective, the point we are currently at in Kyrgyz football is a point where we decided to build a team, we are the second youngest team in the tournament, we have a few players that need a lot of experience especially in games of this level, we are working on that side and on developing individual and team performances.

“There is still an opportunity to fight until the end and if we win against Oman, we might still have a chance to qualify from the group, so we have to keep fighting.

“We are working with players who are the best in the Kyrgyz Republic, but the process of development is not a case of one week or one month. It is a process of building experience.”