After both Group B heavyweights began their campaigns with successful away trips last month, Australia are aiming to build on their positive start when they meet Nepal in Canberra, while Jordan face West Asian rivals Kuwait in Amman.

Matchdays One and Two produced several surprises and the-AFC-com picks out five matches to keep an eye on in Thursday's Matchday Three.

With records, streaks and qualification for the two biggest international tournaments on the Asian football calendar all on the line, the-AFC.com examines some of the stats and facts you need to know ahead of the 32 fixtures to come.

All 40 teams aiming for qualification will be in action with Matchdays Three and Four scheduled for October 10 and 15.

As we prepare for another fiesta of national team football, the-AFC.com takes a look at the scenario in the eight groups heading into the next two rounds of matches on the Road to Qatar 2022 and China 2023.

DPR Korea, who defeated Lebanon and Sri Lanka in the Asian Qualifiers, jumped five places to 113th in the world in the FIFA Ranking released on Thursday..

Yemen (137th), Singapore (157th) and Nepal (161st) also improved their respective rankings by five spots.

Bahrain (105), Tajikistan (115) and Mongolia (183) each moved up four spots.

There were winning starts for Australia, China PR, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic and the United Arab Emirates while Saudi Arabia were held to a 2-2 draw by Yemen.

Bangladesh, the final team to open their campaign on Matchday 2, were edged 1-0 by Afghanistan.

The Asian Qualifiers action will resume on October 10 so make sure to stay with the-AFC.com for the latest.

It was a day of high quality action as 32 of the 40 teams involved in this phase of the Asian Qualifiers got their campaigns underway.

The teams now have a four-day break before Matchday 2 on Tuesday, which will see Australia, China PR, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia kicking off their campaigns.