Malaysia, who were playing without first choice goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel who had been red carded in their match against Tajikistan on Thursday, suffered an early blow when Harith Haiqal Adam’s poor back pass allowed Thailand’s Suphanat Mueanta to latch on to the loose ball before beating Abdul Alim Al Amri to take a third minute lead.

Thailand’s lead, however, lasted less than 10 minutes when Muhamad Alif Bin Mutalib launched a long-range pass from near the half-line mark that found Luqman Hakim Shamsudin in the box and the livewire - who scored four in the tie against Tajikistan - headed the ball over custodian Anuchid Taweesri in the 12th minute.

Malaysia, who are out to shine on home soil, wasted no time in piling on the pressure and came close to opening the scoring as early as the third minute when Muhammad Firdaus Ramli’s cross found Luqman Hakim Shamsudin up front but his shot flew over the crossbar.

Seven minutes later, Muhammad Najmudin Akmal headed the ball in from a corner but to Tajikistan’s relief, he was ruled offside.

Najmudin and Luqman were Malaysia’s dynamic duo and at the half-hour mark, an exchange of passes between the two led to Luqman sweeping the ball home from close range past Tajikistan goalkeeper Mukhriddin Khasanov.

Two minutes later, Luqman broke through the Central Asians’ defence with his sight on goal but was brought down in the box by Khasanov. Najmuddin converted from the spot.

A boosted Malaysia continued to dominate and in the 42nd minute, Muhamad Umar Hakeem Suhar sent a brilliant through pass that found Luqman and the No.10 forward unleashed a right-footed strike to make it 3-0 going into the break.

Thailand, aware of their opponents’ capabilities, pushed hard from the first blow of the referee’s whistle and took the lead just 45 seconds into the match through Waragon Thongbai, who finished a brilliant pass from skipper Thanarin Thumsen.

Japan, however, were unfazed and found the equaliser five minutes later when the Thai backline failed to clear Yamauchi Kakeru’s effort from outside the box, and Araki Ryotaro latched onto the loose ball and hit it home.

Ryotaro turned provider two minutes later when he easily beat the offside trap thanks to Kakeru’s through pass, setting up a one-on-one with Thai ‘keeper Anuchid Taweesri but instead of making an attempt, he relayed the ball to the surging Kondo Kuraba to slide the ball into an unguarded goalmouth for the lead.

In the opening minutes of the match, both sides were eager to find the back of the net as they exchanged possession with every run, promising an exciting match ahead.

In the 14th minute, Oman’s Al Azhar Hamza Al Balushi lobbed the ball over the Yemeni defence to find an unmarked Qusai, who calmly slid the ball past goalkeeper Abdullah Abdulhakim Al Sadi, bounced off the upright and into the goal for the lead.

The goal served as a confidence booster for Yaqoub Saud Saif Al Sabahi’s side as they moved with a spring in their step and continuously threatened with their attacks from the flank.

And in one such instance in the 35th minute, Yemen’s defence cracked under the Omani pressure and Fahad Said Al Rasbi sent a pinpoint cross into the box that saw Qusai secure his second goal of the night with a fine header.

Choi opened the scoring in the 43rd minute to give Korea Republic the lead going into the break, while Hong Yun-sang doubled their advantage in the 52nd minute before Choi scored his second goal of the night in the 68th to seal the win.

“It’s great to win three points, I’m happy for myself and the team as well,” the 16-year-old midfielder told the-AFC.com. “In general, we are happy with the win and the performance.

“In terms of improvement, we should have more concentration in defence, as I think there were times where we made some simple mistakes. So if we improve on that, it would be okay. We just need to recover well and prepare for the next game.”

Iraq took a fourth minute lead through Hussein Sadeq’s strike, but tournament debutants Afghanistan recovered almost immediately to score the equaliser a minute later with Ali Zahidi finding the back of the net.

In the 14th minute, Iraq were awarded a penalty when Al Jasim Elaibi was brought down in the box, and Qasim stepped up to convert the spot-kick which was eventually the winning goal, sending their travelling fans into a frenzy.

“I always wish to score goals and I have thought about the way I would do my celebration, but the goal I scored from the penalty spot helped my team to win and harvest the three points, and that’s the important factor,” said Qasim. “It isn’t what I gave to myself but what I gave to my team.”

DPR Korea took the lead through Kim Kang-song’s 20th minute strike, before Ahmad Semreen leveled the scores 11 minutes later but Jordan trailed again going into the break with Kang-song’s 45th minute goal.

Jordan eventually equalised in the second half with Amer Rasem Adel Jamous finding the back of the net in the 75th minute.