Forward Rabiul Hasan came off the bench to score in Thursday's first leg to give Bangladesh a vital win and with the return leg at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, the South Asians are optimistic of their chances of their place in the second round of the Asian Qualifiers.

Hasan came off the bench in the 55th minute and had an immediate impact on Thursday's first leg in Vientiane as he unsettled Laos with his piercing runs.

Sixteen minutes in, he scored what would prove the winning goal, one that could well take Bangladesh into the second phase of the Asian Qualifiers.

Bangladesh were the first to start pressing and threatened to score within the opening minutes of the game but their finishing left a lot to be desired. That was to set the tone of the first half which was marked by both teams inability to convert from close range and thus ended goalless.

The first half also witnessed multiple wayward free-kicks from both teams. Soon after Bangladesh fluffed their chances in the early minutes, it was the turn of Laos forward and skipper Souk Aphone Vongchiengkham who couldn’t quite put the finishing touch on an exciting short passage of play.

A rampant Malaysia scored a 7-1 win to all but confirm their place in the next stage of the Asian Qualifiers but Tsukitate is looking at the bigger picture for Timor-Leste.

The Japanese coach opted for a young squad due to several factors and admitted that his players struggled to cope with the intensity of Malaysia's game.

Goals from captain Norjmoo Tsedenbal and Naranbold Nyam-Osor gave Mongolia a 2-0 win in Thursday's first leg in Ulaanbaatar but Brunei Darussalam head coach Robbie Servais is confident his team can turn it around at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium.

An equally balanced first leg saw Bhutan take a slender lead going into Tuesday's match, thanks to Tshering Dorji's first half strike.

But this week Normoojiin Tsedenbal managed just that when he struck the first goal of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 Preliminary Joint Qualification in his home town of Ulaanbaatar for the Mongolian national team who went on to win the opening game of the Road to Qatar and Road to China.

His left-foot strike from a free-kick in the ninth minute of the subsequent 2-0 victory against Brunei Darussalam meant that Tsedenbal will be remembered as the man who scored the first goal of a competition which will end with the Finals across Asia in Qatar in December 2022.