The focus was on Iraq but it was Afghanistan who started the brighter and in the opening seconds, Ali Zahidi latched onto the ball following Abdul Munir Hazrati’s pass but the midfielder fired his effort over the bar.

Iraq responded brilliantly as just two minutes later, Hussein Sadeq Rasetmee found the net with a brilliant lob over Afghanistan goalkeeper Mashal Musaferzada.

Thailand took the lead just 45 seconds into the match through Waragon Thongbai, but the young Samurai Blue didn’t flinch and found the equaliser five minutes later through Araki Ryotaro.

“Even though we conceded inside the first minute, we still had a whole 90 minutes left to play so we were quite confident of scoring. Even when they scored first, we stayed calm and steady,” said Japan captain Riku.

Lim, a former Bayern Munich Junior Team coach, was brought back in 2013 to lead the current Malaysian U-16 squad, which is a product of the collaboration between the Football Association of Malaysia and the National Football Development Programme, which aims to develop budding talents in the country.

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.

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.

In a tightly contested affair, Vietnam started the match strongly as they fought for early possession against an Indian side who had stayed unbeaten in the qualifiers. But the Southeast Asians soon found themselves under pressure as India pushed forward.

Gurkirat Singh found space down the left and delivered a perfect cross to Vikram Partap, who timed his run perfectly as he skipped past his marker in the box but his finishing was tame as it sailed past the goalmouth in the fifth minute.

Vietnam, unfazed by India’s persistence, surged forward in the 12th minute as Dinh Thanh Trung made his way on the right and passed it square to Khuat Van Khang, who fired straight into the arms of India goalkeeper Niraj Kumar.

With a partisan crowd cheering their team on, Indonesia went ahead in the fourth minute when Mochammad Supriadi broke free on the left flank and laid off a square pass to Amiruddin Bagus Alfikri, who had the easiest of finishes to put Indonesia in front.

A minute later, IR Iran came close to equalising with Mahdi Seyedi's glancing header but Indonesia goalkeeper Ernando Ari Sutaryadi kept a cool head to make the save.

IR Iran found it hard to break down their opponents as Indonesia operated as a tight unit and were adept at defending.

Boosted by the advantage, Indonesia controlled the pace of the match and were comfortable keeping possession as they came close to doubling their advantage in the 24th minute but Amanar Abdillah pulled his shot just wide off the left post.