Playing for the first time in over 18 months, the Socceroos scored in the opening minute through captain Mathew Leckie, before another goal from Jackson Irvine and a peach of a free-kick by Ajdin Hrustic put them to within touching distance of the Third Round on the Road to Qatar 2022.

With a distinct lack of match practice, the absence of stars like Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic, and steamy conditions all factors potentially working against them, Arnold’s side delivered a commanding performance, something attributed to the culture of his squad.

Saudi Arabia went into this game looking for a third consecutive win to further consolidate their grip at the top of the group, and they duly delivered in expert fashion as the game was put to bed in the first half with relative ease.

An entertaining opening half at Goyang Stadium saw Sri Lanka go in front through Waseem Razeek before Lebanon replied immediately after with goals from Joan Oumari and Mohamad Kdouh, and then took a 3-1 lead into the interval when Oumari added his second on the stroke of half-time.

Razeek netted from the spot just after the hour to pull Sri Lanka back into the game but they were unable to complete the comeback for their first point in Group H as Lebanon survived a scare to pick up the victory.

The hosts took an early lead through Hwang Ui-jo before dominating proceedings, but they only managed to add a second in first-half stoppage time through Nam Tae-hee.

Kim Young-gwon made it three as the hour approached before a deserved goal from Kwon Chang-hoon and a second from Hwang rounded off the scoring as Korea Republic posted a resounding win to delight those in attendance at Goyang Stadium.

Mahmoud Al Mawas scored a hat-trick – which included two penalties – as the Syrians notched up their sixth win in a row in Group A to stand eight points clear of second-placed China PR.

That result means a win over Guam on Monday in Sharjah will be enough to qualify the Syrians for the next phase of the preliminaries and also earn them a berth at the Finals of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Singapore went into their tie against at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh targeting three points but were left undone by a 10-minute blitz in the first half which left them trailing 3-0, with Palestine adding a fourth five minutes from time.

The win saw Palestine leapfrog Singapore into third place on goal difference with both on seven points. Saudi Arabia lead with 11 points, Uzbekistan are two behind, while Yemen are bottom with five points.

Goals by forward Anjan Bista and substitute Nawayug Shrestha at the Jaber Al-Hamad International Stadium in Kuwait City secured Nepal their second win over Chinese Taipei as the South Asians ensured a fourth place finish in the group.

Bista had scored both goals when the two sides met earlier in the campaign, with Nepal also winning that tie 2-0.