Tajikistan went into the match having won their first two matches but DPR Korea, who suffered a defeat to Syria before bouncing back to beat hosts India, played the perfect game to take the three points.

DPR Korea's win ended India's hopes of advancing to the final. Syria, however, can still advance should they defeat India on Tuesday as it will take them to six points as well.

With both teams having suffered defeats in their opening matches - DPR Korea were beaten 5-2 by Syria while India conceded four second half goals to lose 4-2 to Tajikistan - neither side could afford a second defeat.

Both teams came into the match with a win each and another three points would be crucial in their bid to make the final.

After a first half in which Syria had dominated, Tajikistan struck through Tursunov Komron and Ilhomjon Barotov to take a huge step towards the final as the Central Asians turned on the power in the second half - as they had done in their 4-2 win over India on Matchday One - to seal the points.

Shadi Hamwi and Mohammad Almarmour both struck twice and captain Firak Al-Khatib once as Syria overcame going behind to Jong Il-gwan's third minute goal.

Syria will face Tajikistan, who opened their campaign with a 4-2 win over India, next on Wednesday while DPR Korea will face the hosts on Saturday.

Dutchman van Marwijk, who replaced Italian Alberto Zaccheroni last March, gathered his team in Munich, Germany before travelling to Salzburg where the team will spend a week before returning to Dubai on July 22.

UAE, who are among the 34 teams to have received a bye into the second round of the Asian Qualifiers, will begin their campaign on September 5 with their second match five days later.

Entering the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers for the first time, Central Asian rivals Uzbekistan and Tajikistan played out a remarkable two-legged affair in 1996, with the White Wolves pulling off an incredible comeback to qualify 5-4 on aggregate after being 4-0 down.

We kick off by recalling the epic FIFA World Cup France 1998 qualifying playoff between Japan and Islamic Republic of Iran, which sent the Samurai Blue to the Finals for the first time in their history.