Qatar's tournament ended in the group stages after failing to beat Gulf neighbours United Arab Emirates in Group B on Monday despite Quintana's best efforts.

Quintana's 41st-minute penalty at the Army Stadium looked to have handed Qatar a place in the quarter-finals before Saeed Alkas' second-half header and a late strike from substitute Faisal Khalil ended their hopes of progressing to the last eight.

Musovic had been forced to defend Quintana's form during his Asian Cup preparations, but was thrilled as the forward rose to the challenge in Vietnam.

"During our training camp and during the friendly games Sebastian did not score and a lot of people started to ask questions of him why he has not been scoring," said Musovic.

"I had to explain to them that it is not just his fault. Sebastian is not just a goalscorer - he is a team player and works hard for the whole team."

Quintana blasted home a 88th-minute deflected free-kick to snatch a 1-1 draw against Japan in their opening game before scoring with 11 minutes remaining to grab a crucial point against Vietnam.

The 23-year-old moved to Qatar in 2004 from Uruguay's Liverpool Montevideo to join Al Gharafa before making his international debut under Musovic during their victorious Asian Games campaign last year.