Alimardon Shukurov, 20, and Gulzhigit Alykulov, 18, had tongues wagging after their outstanding performances on Thursday, with both players netting their first senior international goals as the Central Asian side revived their Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 campaign after last month’s 1-0 defeat against Tajikistan.

Bernhardt, 33, has seen plenty of players come and go in his 15-year professional career, but he believes the Akshumkar could have something special on their hands with the dynamic duo.

The Akshumkar were irresistible against the Southeast Asians, registering their biggest ever win as a national team as veteran midfielder Edgar Bernhardt bagged the first hat-trick of his career.

The result was much needed, putting their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying campaign back on an even keel after last month’s 1-0 defeat to Tajikistan in Dushanbe, and their boss praised his charges for an excellent night’s work.

Edgar Bernhardt netted a hat-trick, Alimardon Shukurov a brace and Gulzhigit Alyukulov and Valerii Kichin added goals of their own as Alexander Krestinin’s side recorded their biggest ever win on the international stage.

Kyrgyz Republic’s dream night takes them to three points from two matches ahead of next Tuesday’s visit to Mongolia, while Myanmar remain bottom of Group F after a succumbing to a third successive loss.

The Galatasaray full-back netted his side’s third goal in a comfortable win over their East Asian rivals after Takumi Minamino had given Hajime Moriyasu’s side the lead and Maya Yoshida doubled the home team’s advantage.

Goals from Takumi Minamino, Maya Yoshida, Yuto Nagatomo and Kensuke Nagai in the first half put Japan in command before second half efforts from Hiroki Nagai and Daichi Kamada sealed an emphatic victory on their road to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

The win means the Japanese sit on six points from their first two games in Group F, having secured a 2-0 win over Myanmar in their opening game last month.

Seven players netted hat-tricks on Thursday, as the Continent’s heavyweights, and some rising powers, flexed their muscles in a series of emphatic home wins.

Here, the-AFC.com looks at some of the most effective front men on Matchday Three.

Back in the nation’s top job after a seven-year absence, Abramov watched on as his side proved far too strong for their West Asian opponents, with five different players getting on the scoresheet to delight the 28,000 fans at Pakhtakor Stadium.

The White Wolves’ win was in stark contrast to last month’s disastrous 2-0 loss to Palestine in their opening Group D tie, which cost former boss Hector Cuper his job, but the new man in charge refused to be carried away by the one-sided score line.