Adam Taggart's 13th minute effort proved enough for Australia to stretch their winning run to four matches in the race to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 but Borkelmans said had Jordan been sharper with their finishing, the result could have well been different.

The defeat meant Jordan are third in the Group B standings, level on seven points with Kuwait but behind on goal difference. Australia top the group with 12 points.

Taggart scored after just 12 minutes in Amman, getting on the end of Jackson Irvine’s incisive pass before lifting the ball over the keeper with a classy finish.

Adam Taggart’s early lob helped the Socceroos exorcise the demons of previous failures in the Jordanian capital, but they had to withstand a second-half rally from a Mousa Suleiman Al Tamari-inspired Al Nashama.

Jordan’s defeat coupled with Kuwait’s big win over Chinese Taipei, sees Vial Borkelman’s side drop to third on goal difference with seven points, while Australia lead the race with a perfect 12 from their opening four matches.

The visitors arrived to the Kuwaiti capital on the back of a 7-1 defeat by Australia on the previous matchday, while Kuwait’s last outing saw them hold Jordan to a goalless draw last month.

Despite the big final score, it wasn’t until halfway through the opening 45 minutes that the home crowd celebrated the first goal of the night.

At a typically atmospheric Pakhtakor Stadium in Tashkent, home favourite Eldor Shomurodov gave Uzbekistan the lead on 16 minutes, only to see Salman Al Faraj restore parity from the spot shortly after.

Uzbekistan went ahead for a second time in the 56th minute courtesy of an Otabek Shukurov penalty, before Al Faraj scored his second goal on the night with five minutes remaining and Salem Al Dawsari netted a late winner as Saudi Arabia claimed their second win of the Asian Qualifiers.

Facing the second-highest seed in the group against the backdrop of a chilly Bishkek evening, goals from Takumi Minamino and Genki Haraguchi either side of half-time helped the Samurai Blue seal what was ultimately a convincing win; their fourth in succession without conceding a goal in the Asian Qualifiers.

Speaking after the game, Moriyasu said he had been impressed by his side’s ability to achieve the result which took them a step closer to the next round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying campaign.

Nguyen Tien Linh’s super strike was the difference as Vietnam held on for victory at My Dinh Stadium on Thursday to move top of Group E, while the UAE dropped to third place with six points from two wins and two defeats.

Vietnam still have four games left in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualification, and their next match is against regional rivals Thailand in Hanoi on Tuesday.