Three out of the five sides that represented Asia in the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 got off to a flying start as they aim to return to the global showpiece next year. Saudi Arabia, Australia and Islamic Republic of Iran have all collected maximum points from their opening three games on the road to Qatar 2022.

Under new head coach Dragan Skočić, Team Melli are yet to concede a goal, keeping three consecutive clean sheets. The Iranians’ latest victory came in the UAE thanks to a swift counterattack with Sardar Azmoun feeding Mehdi Taremi whose second goal in as many games was enough to down the hosts.

Saudi Arabia were worried about the absence of injured talisman Salem Al Dawsari as they took on arch rivals Japan in Jeddah, but nerves were calmed after 70 minutes as substitute Firas Al Buraikan capitalised on a fatal Gaku Shibasaki misplaced pass to slot home the winner; a repeat of the result on the same ground four years earlier.

In turn, Australia shook off early doubts to add a third win in a row, two second-half goals from Martin Boyle and Mitchell Duke secured the win after Oman’s Al Manthar Al Alawi had cancelled out Awer Mabil’s early goal. Next up for the Socceroos is a tricky trip to Saitama where a win can leave them a whole nine points ahead of Japan should they win.

Qualified to each of the past six FIFA World Cups, 2019 AFC Asian Cup finalists and a perfect record of eight wins out of eight in the previous round of the Asian Qualifiers. All signs were pointing towards another successful run for Japan as the road to Qatar got underway.

Three games in, the perspective couldn’t be more different as Hajime Moriyasu’s men fell to a second defeat in Group B, leaving them six points adrift of the top two sides – Australia and Saudi Arabia - with a hotly anticipated encounter against the Socceroos in Saitama up next.

Yuya Osako’s improvised finish late into the first half against China PR remains the Samurai Blues’ only goal in the last 270 minutes of action and they now risk being overtaken by Oman or China PR or both into third place should they not turn their form around soon enough.

One of the rising powers in Asian football, Vietnam are at this stage of the Asian Qualifiers for the first time in their history, having finished second behind the UAE in Group G after a string of solid displays, but rubbing up against the continent’s finest, the learning curve has been a steep one.

A Nguyen Quang Hai strike inside the first three minutes of their Group B opener promised a lot, but Park Hang-seo’s team were clawed back by the Saudis, losing 3-1 before two spirited displays against Australia and China PR produced nothing in terms of points.

The latest Vietnamese encounter in Sharjah saw them come within seconds of a first point, as Ho Tan Tai and Nguyen Tien Linh scored in the last 10 minutes to cancel out a two-goal China PR lead before talisman Wu Lei settled matters for the Chinese in added time to leave Vietnam without points as they travel to Oman next.

With IR Iran and Korea Republic opening a gap at the top of Group A, the UAE and Iraq clash on Tuesday in a direct battle for third place in the group, and both sides have a similar puzzle to solve before their Matchday Four encounter in Dubai.

Alongside Lebanon, Iraq are one of two teams in the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar that are yet to find the back of the net, and the Lions of Mesopotamia have their work cut out for them with striker Mohanad Ali missing this window of games with an injury, forcing head coach Dick Advocaat to experiment with Ibrahim Bayesh up front alongside Ayman Hussein, but the pair could not produce against Lebanon on Thursday.

The UAE haven’t fared much better offensively either; their only goal so far coming from an Ali Mabkhout tap-in into the empty net against Syria following a goalkeeping mistake. Against Iran on Thursday they were unable to register a single shot on target all game. The two teams know they need to find their scoring boots soon should they want to challenge for a place in Qatar 2022.

On Thursday, Paulo Bento’s Korea Republic got their second win in a row in Group B, but the Taegeuk Warriors were left to wait until the last minute for captain Son Heung-min to save their blushes with a composed half-volleyed finish earning them the three points against Syria.

Hwang In-beom had struck from distance just after the restart, but the Koreans were clawed back inside the last 10 minutes with Omar Khribin expertly hitting Mahmoud Al Mawas’ cross, before the Tottenham Hotspur man won it for the hosts.

A hard-fought win followed a stalemate against Iraq and a narrow 1-0 victory over Lebanon, all three games being played on Korean soil. It might not be pretty so far, but Bento’s men sit comfortably in second place with seven points, well on track for a place in Qatar 2022 at this stage of the AFC Asian Qualifiers.