Song Lam Nghe An striker Cong Vinh struck the crucial second goal with 17 minutes remaining.

Last season's V-League MVP expertly lobbed advancing UAE goalkeeper Majed Naser after perfectly timing his run to collect Nguyen Vu Phong's lofted pass.

Huynh Quang Thanh had earlier stunned the UAE and sent a packed My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi into raptures with a powerful close range finish from Nguyen Minh Phuong's chipped pass.

"We now have an excellent chance of progressing to the next round after starting the tournament with a win," he said.

"The team is very confident and we believe we can make it to the quarter-finals. It is now an open group and Vietnam have an excellent chance.

"Vietnam are the smallest team in the group, but after this victory the image Qatar and Japan have of our team will change. The fans were very important; they made the team feel stronger."

Vietnam will now look forward to Thursday's meeting with Asian Games gold medal winners Qatar and the Group B finale against two-time defending champions Japan next Monday.

"It was a very interesting match and it will go down in the history of Vietnamese football," said Cong Vinh, who is one of 12 players from the under-23 Olympic side named in Alfred Riedl's squad.

"This is the biggest result in the history of Vietnamese football. I was delighted when I scored the second goal."

Cong Vinh hailed the contribution of Austrian coach Riedl, who has returned for his third spell in charge of Vietnam.

"The coach has had a great effect on the team. Not only is he the coach, he is also a friend," he said.

Vietnam underwent a light training session at the Hanoi Stadium on Monday morning before sitting down to watch the match between Qatar and Japan in the hope of plotting a route to another historic triumph.

"Qatar are the Asian Games champions; they are a very strong team," he added. "We will watch the game against Japan tonight and try to find the best and most appropriate solution."