On top of Continental glory, the AFC U-16 Championship 2018 also serves as the Asian qualifiers, where the top four teams will earn berths to the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru, and Mueanta’s two-goal blitz against Malaysia ensured a 4-2 win over the host nation, reviving their hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.

Mueanta admitted that the all-Southeast Asian affair at the National Stadium on Sunday was a tough match, but their past meetings gave him much needed experience, saying: “Malaysia is a really good team and had a good preparation, but having played against them before, that experience has been useful here.

“I’m glad to score in this game to help my team take the lead against Malaysia. But the goals are not important, because our target is to bring Thailand to the World Cup."

Japan head coach Yoshiro Moriyama made seven changes to his starting lineup but kept Riku Handa, Kondo Kuraba and Araki Ryotaro - three of the four goalscorers in their 5-2 win over Thailand.

The East Asians, however, failed to find an opening in the final third against a Tajikistan side who showed excellent discipline in defence.

Malaysia, who were playing without first choice goalkeeper Sikh Izhan Nazrel who had been red carded in their match against Tajikistan on Thursday, suffered an early blow when Harith Haiqal Adam’s poor back pass allowed Thailand’s Suphanat Mueanta to latch on to the loose ball before beating Abdul Alim Al Amri to take a third minute lead.

Thailand’s lead, however, lasted less than 10 minutes when Muhamad Alif Bin Mutalib launched a long-range pass from near the half-line mark that found Luqman Hakim Shamsudin in the box and the livewire - who scored four in the tie against Tajikistan - headed the ball over custodian Anuchid Taweesri in the 12th minute.

Jordan and Oman began cautiously, trading possession in the opening minutes and relied mostly on long range passes but the defence on both sides easily dealt with the threats.

Oman’s Qusai Al Jaradi - who starred in their 2-0 win against Yemen - had speed on his side but he was no threat to the Jordanian backline as they limited his movements and quickly cleared the ball from danger.

It was clear that Yemen were prepared to play DPR Korea, placing defender Akram Adel Mohammed behind their backline as an added protective layer, knowing that the East Asians heavily relied on their long-range passes to Kim Kang-song, who scored two goals in the draw with Jordan on Friday.

With Kang-song heavily marked, DPR Korea made their way into the box through crosses from the flanks instead and came close several times but Yemeni custodian Abdulrahman Ahmed Al Raimi was on top of his game.

IR Iran, who lost their opening match against Indonesia, made three changes to their starting lineup - bringing in Hossein Shaverdi, Hossein Hajizadehkhorasani and Mirreza Eslamtalab and they were more compact in midfield and organised at the back.

IR Iran's Amir Jafari sent in an inviting cross into the box in the fifth minute but it was too high for Yasin Salmani’s reach as India goalkeeper Niraj Kumar collected the ball with ease.

India battled hard for possession but were unable to get a foothold of the match as IR Iran closed the door on their opponents as they approached the danger zone.

Vietnam played a high pressing game against an Indonesian team who defeated former champions Islamic Republic of Iran 2-0 in their opener on Friday.

The young Golden Dragons dictated play in the opening eight minutes as they tried to find a way past the Indonesian defence but often found themselves losing the ball midway through their buildup.

With the partisan crowd backing them, Indonesia pushed forward with Amiruddin Bagus Alfikri finding space in the Vietnam box in the 12th minute but his attempt to progress was cut short as he was quickly disposed by Vietnam defenders.