Having taken the lead on 59 minutes through Zafar Babajanov, Turkmenistan were stunned by a pair of stellar solo goals from Rabih Ataya and Soony Saad that had seemingly turned the tie on its head.

But for a second time in the match a pair of goals flipped the script. First Guychmyrat Annagulyyev and then Annadurdyyev in injury time found the target to seal all three points for the Central Asians in dramatic fashion.

A switch to a two-man frontline of Baisa Faisal and Yazan Al Naimat paid dividends for Al Nashama, who went two goals ahead thanks to a Faisal brace before defender Yazan Al Arab made the points safe in the 67th minute.

Harry Souttar, in his third appearance, opened the scoring, and two-cap midfielder Riley McGree bagged two assists, while exciting playmaker Denis Genreau was one of three players to make their international debut, along with Connor Metcalfe and Ruon Tongyik.

After a relatively even first half, Iran were dominant in the second period with Sardar Azmoun scoring twice in eight minutes, before Mehdi Taremi sealed the win with a strike of his own.

Skocic was ecstatic with the result, which pushed the Central Asians up to second place on 12 points in the standings, ahead of Bahrain on goal difference. Leaders Iraq have 14 points.

Two first-half goals from Caio Canedo and Fabio Lima looked to have settled matters for the UAE, but Suphanat Mueanta halved the deficit 10 minutes after the restart to set up a nervy remainder of the match. The Whites finally secured their win deep into added time with substitute Mohammad Jumaa coming off the bench to bag his country’s third.

Two early goals from Mardik Mardikian sent the Syrians on their way to their seventh win in a row in Group A before Mahmoud Al Mawas added a third and that perfect record secured top spot in the standings for Maaloul’s team.

China PR are in second but cannot surpass the Syrians despite their win over the Philippines at Sharjah Stadium later on Monday, leaving Maaloul elated at his team’s progress.

Second half goals from Wu Lei, from the penalty spot, and Wu Xinghan earned the Chinese a victory that took them six points clear of the Azkals with two games remaining, and wins over the Maldives and Syria will put Li Tie’s team in a strong position to keep alive hopes of a first FIFA World Cup appearance since 2002.

Syria have already qualified as Group A winners but five runners-up slots are available in the third round after Qatar won Group E. With the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts not playing in the next phase, an additional slot has opened up for the teams who finish second across the eight groups.