The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) continues to set new benchmarks in Asian refereeing as it will be one of the first Confederations to utilise the VAR in the Asian Qualifiers.

The COVID-19 pandemic created numerous challenges but Asian football came together to ensure a successful conclusion to the second round of the Asian Qualifiers.

It was a campaign that was filled with thrills, spills and goals galore so join the-AFC.com as we take a look at how it all went down.

Two first-half goals from skipper Salman Al Faraj established a solid foundation for the Saudis to build on and Renard’s men went on to add a third just before the break, through Fahad Al Muwallad who capitalised on a defensive mistake to round the goalkeeper and put the game to bed.

The former Saudi Arabia and Australia manager fielded the more defensive minded Majed Hassan in place of Khalfan Mubarak, pushing central midfielder Abdullah Ramadan further upfield in a more creative role, and his changes paid dividends as Ramadan set up Ali Salmeen for the opening goal and supplied the through pass for Khalil Ibrahim to win a penalty that was converted by Ali Mabkhout to make it 2-0 before the break.

Mahmoud Khamis headed from point-blank five minutes after the restart to cement the UAE’s victory, but van Marwijk’s men had to survive a late scare as Nguyen Tien Linh and Tran Minh Vuong reduced the deficit in the final five minutes of the match, with the UAE holding for a 3-2 win at the final whistle.

The West Asian side had secured their place in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup prior to their final Group E match against Bangladesh, which Oman won 3-0 to finish second behind Qatar on 18 points.

The impressive haul saw head coach Ivankovic's side earn one of the best five runners-up spots available to the final round plus also seal qualification to the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Sardar Azmoun's first half goal proved enough for Iran to clinch the three points as they completed a remarkable turnaround to emerge group winners and seal a place in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and confirm their appearance in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Despite the defeat, Iraq also advanced to the final round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers as one of the best runners-up teams but Katanec believes his side should have gotten a better result.

With 2022 FIFA World Cup host and current Asian champions Qatar clinching their spot as Group E winners, seven other group winners Australia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates as well as the five best second-placed teams – China PR, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman and Vietnam – have all moved one step closer towards qualifying for the global showpiece.