Having already sealed their final place in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers - Road to Qatar 2022 and their berth in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 ahead of the match, Australia made it eight wins out of eight under extreme conditions at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium with Harry Souttar scoring his sixth goal in five matches to hand Australia the win.

The result meant Australia cruised into the third stage of qualifying with an unblemished record and an eighth-straight win in a single campaign for the first time.

With 2022 FIFA World Cup host and current Asian champions Qatar clinching their spot as Group E winners, seven other group winners Australia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates as well as the five best second-placed teams – China PR, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman and Vietnam – have all moved one step closer towards qualifying for the global showpiece.

Vietnam are the newcomers, as the Southeast Asian side joined 11 teams who have featured at this stage of FIFA World Cup qualifying before.

All 12 teams also confirmed their tickets to the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 by qualifying for the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup.

Sardar Azmoun's first half goal proved enough for Iran to clinch the three points as they completed a remarkable turnaround to emerge group winners and seal a place in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and confirm their appearance in the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Despite the defeat, Iraq also advanced to the final round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers as one of the best runners-up teams but Katanec believes his side should have gotten a better result.

The West Asian side had secured their place in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup prior to their final Group E match against Bangladesh, which Oman won 3-0 to finish second behind Qatar on 18 points.

The impressive haul saw head coach Ivankovic's side earn one of the best five runners-up spots available to the final round plus also seal qualification to the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

The victory completed a perfect eight wins from eight in the second round of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers as Japan breezed into the final round with minimal fuss while also confirming their place at the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 with two games to spare.

A six-minute, first-half hat-trick from Ado Onaiwu at Panasonic Stadium Suita had Japan 3-1 up at the interval against Kyrgyz Republic before Sho Sasaki and Takuma Asano wrapped up a resounding victory that took the East Asians to 46 goals in just eight matches.