Seven players netted hat-tricks on Thursday, as the Continent’s heavyweights, and some rising powers, flexed their muscles in a series of emphatic home wins.

Here, the-AFC.com looks at some of the most effective front men on Matchday Three.

Ali Mabkhout - as was the case against Malaysia last month - was the star of the night with a hat-trick as he became the UAE's all-time topscorer with 54 goals. Khalil Ibrahim and Tareq Ahmed were the other scorers at Al Maktoum Stadium as the West Asians moved to the top of the standings.

The Akshumkar were irresistible against the Southeast Asians, registering their biggest ever win as a national team as veteran midfielder Edgar Bernhardt bagged the first hat-trick of his career.

The result was much needed, putting their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying campaign back on an even keel after last month’s 1-0 defeat to Tajikistan in Dushanbe, and their boss praised his charges for an excellent night’s work.

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.

The Melbourne City striker had one international goal to his name heading into the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying clash at GIO Stadium in Canberra, a strike against Palestine in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

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.

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.