Abdulfattah Asiri scored twice while Abdullah Al Hamdan added the third as Saudi Arabia registered their first victory after having opened their qualifying campaign with a 2-2 draw against Yemen last month.

It was top vs bottom going into the game as Saudi Arabia had drawn with Yemen 2-2 in their first game and sat at the foot of the group with a single point, while Singapore had also collected a point with the same score against Yemen, then beat Palestine 2-1 to top the group with four points.

Five different goalscorers and a consummate display throughout helped secure the much-needed victory for Uzbekistan, one which should go some way towards easing memories of the White Wolves’ surprise 2-0 loss to Palestine in their opening game en route to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

By way of contrast – and in the wake of draws against both Singapore and Saudi Arabia – the defeat signalled a first loss in three for Yemen who had been forced to travel to Central Asia without suspended striker Mohsen Hasan.

The Continent's 40 teams will only have a few days to recover before Matchday Four comes along on Tuesday, with another 16 matches scheduled.

Yang Xu scored four and there were also goals from Wu Lei, Wu Xi and Elkeson as China PR followed up their 5-0 win over the Maldives last month by claiming another comfortable three points on the road to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

China now lead Group A alongside Syria with six points out of a possible six and next face the Philippines in Bacolod on Tuesday.

Yusuf Abdurisag’s first-half goal and a late strike from Karim Boudiaf helped seal all three points for Sanchez’s charges on a night when, despite the damp conditions, they maintained their push to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

With a crucial trip to second-placed Oman looming large on Tuesday, the Spanish tactician was left in doubt as to the importance of the victory following a job well done for 2019 AFC Asian Cup winners at Dhaka’s Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Karim Ansarifard scored four, Sardar Azmoun three, Mehdi Taremi and Mohammad Mohebi two each with Ahmad Noorollahi, Hossein Kanaani and Mehrdad Mohammadi also on the scoresheet as Team Melli took another step towards qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.