Two first-half goals from skipper Salman Al Faraj established a solid foundation for the Saudis to build on and Renard’s men went on to add a third just before the break, through Fahad Al Muwallad who capitalised on a defensive mistake to round the goalkeeper and put the game to bed.

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 former Saudi Arabia and Australia manager fielded the more defensive minded Majed Hassan in place of Khalfan Mubarak, pushing central midfielder Abdullah Ramadan further upfield in a more creative role, and his changes paid dividends as Ramadan set up Ali Salmeen for the opening goal and supplied the through pass for Khalil Ibrahim to win a penalty that was converted by Ali Mabkhout to make it 2-0 before the break.

Mahmoud Khamis headed from point-blank five minutes after the restart to cement the UAE’s victory, but van Marwijk’s men had to survive a late scare as Nguyen Tien Linh and Tran Minh Vuong reduced the deficit in the final five minutes of the match, with the UAE holding for a 3-2 win at the final whistle.

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.

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.