On what proved to be a momentous night for head coach Stephen Constantine’s charges, Chhetri netted either side of the break as – along with goals from Anirudh Thapa and Jeje Lalpekhlua – India recorded their first win at the Finals of an AFC Asian Cup since beating Hong Kong at the 1964 tournament.

His brace also took the JSW Bengaluru star’s tally for India to 67 – two ahead of Lionel Messi on 65 and 18 behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the list of the top three international goalscorers still currently representing their countries.

Sunil Chhetri’s brace, along with goals from Anirudh Thapa and Jeje Lalpekhlua, sealed the South Asian side’s first win in the competition's Finals since 1964 and saw them roar to the top of the Group A standings.

However, although clearly pleased with the impressive victory, Constantine remains adamant that his charges still have plenty of work to do if they are to qualify for the knockout phase.

Sunil Chhetri scored twice for India at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi to leave Thailand rooted to the foot of Group A with games against Bahrain and host nation the United Arab Emirates still to come.

The Football Association of Thailand announced the Serbian’s dismissal via its official social media outlets, adding that former assistant coach Sirisak Yodyardthai would assume control of the team for the clash with Bahrain on Thursday.

The 34-year-old netted either side of the break to help guide his side to their first Finals win in 55 years and pole position in the group standings following Saturday’s 1-1 draw between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Syria came into the game as heavy favourites with the likes of Omar Al Soma, Omar Khrbin and Mohammed Osman among their ranks.

But the Qasioun Eagles struggled in front of goal despite dominating possession for the most part of the match and were even playing with an extra man just after the hour mark.

The Palestinians weathered an avalanche of Syrian attacks to walk out of Sharjah Stadium with a valuable point to kick-start their continental campaign.

A string of excellent saves from Hamada and some resolute defending by coach Noureddine Ould Ali’s side saw Palestine deny Syria a win despite the 68th minute dismissal of defender Mohammed Saleh.

Shafi, who is representing his country at the tournament for a fourth time after playing in the Finals in 2004, 2011 and 2015, made several important saves as the Socceroos attempted to find a way to cancel out Anas Bani Yaseen’s first half header.

Graham Arnold’s team was unable to claim an equaliser as Jordan held on to record a historic result against the holders, and Borkelmans praised Shafi’s impact, not only between the posts but on the rest of the players in the team.