Uzbekistan went into the game knowing any result other than a win would curtail their chances of finishing top of the group as they sat five points behind leaders Saudi Arabia.

Wu Lei struck from the penalty spot to break the deadlock in the 56th minute and Wu Xinghan doubled his side’s advantage nine minutes later as the Chinese moved on to 13 points from six games, six more than the Azkals, who remain in third.

A win over the Maldives on Friday will guarantee China PR finish in second place behind group winners Syria and will further strengthen their hopes of advancing to the third round of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup as one of the best runners-up.

Mitchell Duke scored twice, while Harry Souttar, Jamie Maclaren and Trent Sainsbury all got on the scoresheet for Graham Arnold’s side, who made it six wins from six to maintain their five-point advantage over second placed Jordan with two matches remaining

Chinese Taipei managed a second half goal through Gao Wei-jie, but it was scant consolation on a night where their seventh successive Asian Qualifiers defeat confirmed they will finish last in Group B.

The three points saw Iran leapfrog Bahrain into second place on 12 points, two behind Iraq with both sides having two matches remaining. The defeat was a blow for Bahrain, who are third with just one game remaining in the race to advance to the third round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Sunil Chhetri struck twice in the closing minutes as India boosted their hopes of sealing a place in the third round of the Asian Qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, with the India captain taking his tally to 74 international goals – above Argentina's Lionel Messi and one off entering world football’s all-time top 10.

The result leaves Qatar with 22 points, 10 points ahead of second-placed Oman, who still have two games to play - against Afghanistan on Friday and Bangladesh four days later.

The hosts took the lead after just five minutes, Miki Yamane’s incisive through ball met the run of Takuma Asano and when his attempt was charged down by a flying Rustam Yatimov, the ball broke only as far as Kyogo Furuhashi who fired into an empty net.

Japan’s advantage lasted just three minutes as a fine cross from Manucher Safarov reached the head of Ehson Panshanbe and he re-directed the ball smartly home past goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda.

The result sees the UAE reach 12 points in second place, two behind leaders Vietnam with Thailand staying in third place on nine points. The UAE face Indonesia in four days' time, while Thailand will wait till June 15 to face Malaysia in the final Matchday of the group.