Substitute Pak scored in the 71st minute as DPR Korea, having defeated Tajikistan 1-0 in their earlier meeting, made it a double over the Central Asians.

DPR Korea deserved the victory as they dominated from the start, although a goal eluded both teams as they went into the break level.

The draw, conducted by FIFA Director of Competitions Christian Unger and Australian legend Tim Cahill, saw Asia's top ranked team Islamic Republic of Iran pooled in Group C alongside Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia.

Iran will be aiming for a third consecutive appearance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, having narrowly missed on qualifying for the knockout stage in Russia 2018.

The hosts, having suffered defeats in their first two pool matches, produced their best performance of the tournament to hold the West Asians.

Syria, having opened their tournament with a 5-2 win over DPR Korea and then suffering a 2-0 defeat to Tajikistan, needed the three points to stand a chance of making the final, which will be contested by Tajikistan and DPR Korea on Friday.

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.

India looked to be cruising to victory after taking a 2-0 lead in the first half but Tajikistan turned on the power in the second 45 minutes as they hit four goals to register a morale-boosting win ahead of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.