Thailand took the lead just 45 seconds into the match through Waragon Thongbai, but the young Samurai Blue didn’t flinch and found the equaliser five minutes later through Araki Ryotaro.

“Even though we conceded inside the first minute, we still had a whole 90 minutes left to play so we were quite confident of scoring. Even when they scored first, we stayed calm and steady,” said Japan captain Riku.

Thailand, aware of their opponents’ capabilities, pushed hard from the first blow of the referee’s whistle and took the lead just 45 seconds into the match through Waragon Thongbai, who finished a brilliant pass from skipper Thanarin Thumsen.

Japan, however, were unfazed and found the equaliser five minutes later when the Thai backline failed to clear Yamauchi Kakeru’s effort from outside the box, and Araki Ryotaro latched onto the loose ball and hit it home.

Ryotaro turned provider two minutes later when he easily beat the offside trap thanks to Kakeru’s through pass, setting up a one-on-one with Thai ‘keeper Anuchid Taweesri but instead of making an attempt, he relayed the ball to the surging Kondo Kuraba to slide the ball into an unguarded goalmouth for the lead.

Malaysia, who are out to shine on home soil, wasted no time in piling on the pressure and came close to opening the scoring as early as the third minute when Muhammad Firdaus Ramli’s cross found Luqman Hakim Shamsudin up front but his shot flew over the crossbar.

Seven minutes later, Muhammad Najmudin Akmal headed the ball in from a corner but to Tajikistan’s relief, he was ruled offside.

Najmudin and Luqman were Malaysia’s dynamic duo and at the half-hour mark, an exchange of passes between the two led to Luqman sweeping the ball home from close range past Tajikistan goalkeeper Mukhriddin Khasanov.

Two minutes later, Luqman broke through the Central Asians’ defence with his sight on goal but was brought down in the box by Khasanov. Najmuddin converted from the spot.

A boosted Malaysia continued to dominate and in the 42nd minute, Muhamad Umar Hakeem Suhar sent a brilliant through pass that found Luqman and the No.10 forward unleashed a right-footed strike to make it 3-0 going into the break.

The striker, alongside Muhammad Najmuddin Akmal, was the catalyst in the Malaysian attack and his sharpness in front of goal made all the difference for the hosts as the Southeast Asians swept past their opponents to lead 3-0 at halftime.

"I'm glad I scored today. It was not easy playing against Tajikistan and we fought hard as they played well,” said Luqman.

In the opening minutes of the match, both sides were eager to find the back of the net as they exchanged possession with every run, promising an exciting match ahead.

In the 14th minute, Oman’s Al Azhar Hamza Al Balushi lobbed the ball over the Yemeni defence to find an unmarked Qusai, who calmly slid the ball past goalkeeper Abdullah Abdulhakim Al Sadi, bounced off the upright and into the goal for the lead.

The goal served as a confidence booster for Yaqoub Saud Saif Al Sabahi’s side as they moved with a spring in their step and continuously threatened with their attacks from the flank.

And in one such instance in the 35th minute, Yemen’s defence cracked under the Omani pressure and Fahad Said Al Rasbi sent a pinpoint cross into the box that saw Qusai secure his second goal of the night with a fine header.

Both sides began the match cautiously, but DPR Korea held the lion’s share of possession with their heavy man-to-man marking and constantly forced Jordan into a defensive position with their crosses into the final third, forcing goalkeeper Osama Raed Mahmoud into making multiple saves.

The East Asians had a scare in the 12th minute when Jordan’s Mohannad Jehad Ahmad Semreen moved out a counter-attack that saw him surging from his end of the field to the other end, outmaneuvering several Korean defenders but his last ditch pass into the box failed to find any of his teammates.

In the 19th minute, DPR Korea were awarded a free-kick from 30 metres out when Jordan’s Obada Omar Alruzi fouled Kim Kang-song.

Defender Kim Jin-hyok’s free-kick bounced off the Jordanian wall, but the deflected ball landed right in front of Kang-song, who then let loose a strike from near the penalty spot to claim the lead a minute later.

In a tightly contested affair, Vietnam started the match strongly as they fought for early possession against an Indian side who had stayed unbeaten in the qualifiers. But the Southeast Asians soon found themselves under pressure as India pushed forward.

Gurkirat Singh found space down the left and delivered a perfect cross to Vikram Partap, who timed his run perfectly as he skipped past his marker in the box but his finishing was tame as it sailed past the goalmouth in the fifth minute.

Vietnam, unfazed by India’s persistence, surged forward in the 12th minute as Dinh Thanh Trung made his way on the right and passed it square to Khuat Van Khang, who fired straight into the arms of India goalkeeper Niraj Kumar.