Hasan came off the bench in the 55th minute and had an immediate impact on Thursday's first leg in Vientiane as he unsettled Laos with his piercing runs.

Sixteen minutes in, he scored what would prove the winning goal, one that could well take Bangladesh into the second phase of the Asian Qualifiers.

Bangladesh were the first to start pressing and threatened to score within the opening minutes of the game but their finishing left a lot to be desired. That was to set the tone of the first half which was marked by both teams inability to convert from close range and thus ended goalless.

The first half also witnessed multiple wayward free-kicks from both teams. Soon after Bangladesh fluffed their chances in the early minutes, it was the turn of Laos forward and skipper Souk Aphone Vongchiengkham who couldn’t quite put the finishing touch on an exciting short passage of play.

Although pleased with his players for virtually sealing their place in the next round with the 7-1 win at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Tan said there is room for improvement in his team.

Bhutan enjoyed a hard-earned 1-0 triumph thanks to Tshering Dorji's first half strike but Dodd insist the tie is far from over.

But this week Normoojiin Tsedenbal managed just that when he struck the first goal of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 Preliminary Joint Qualification in his home town of Ulaanbaatar for the Mongolian national team who went on to win the opening game of the Road to Qatar and Road to China.

His left-foot strike from a free-kick in the ninth minute of the subsequent 2-0 victory against Brunei Darussalam meant that Tsedenbal will be remembered as the man who scored the first goal of a competition which will end with the Finals across Asia in Qatar in December 2022.

Pakistan looked set to hold on for a draw in the rain-lashed National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh on Thursday but substitute Chanthea capitalised on a failed clearance by a Pakistani defender to drill the ball into the back of the net from close range in the 81st minute.

Three minutes later, Pakistan were left reeling as midfield general Sokumpheak broke away from the tracking defenders to slot the ball beyond the visiting keeper.

This was the first time both sides met since their first encounter 14 years ago when Dorji was part of the national team who defeated Guam 6-0, a record which still stands as the country’s biggest margin of victory.