Muhammad Safawi Rasid was the star of the night with two wonderful goals but Tan said all his players contributed to the victory as Malaysia made it two wins on the trot, having beaten Thailand 2-1 in their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifier on Thursday.

The win, coupled with Vietnam and Thailand playing to a goalless draw in Hanoi, saw Malaysia move up to second in the Group G standings on nine points from three wins and two defeats.

Syria made it five wins from five to seize control of Group A as the West Asians will take a whopping eight-point lead into 2020 after defeating Philippines 1-0.

Turkmenistan will also head into the new year as Group H leaders, with their 1-0 win over Sri Lanka and the Lebanon-DPR Korea tie ending in a goalless stalemate giving the Central Asian side a one-point lead.

The Asian Qualifiers will resume on March 26.

Safawi scored two brilliant goals as Malaysia moved to second in the standings behind Vietnam, with their dream of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 still very much alive.

For Indonesia, it was their fifth consecutive defeat with their hopes all but dashed with three matches remaining.

Vietnam lead with 11 points from five matches while the stalemate saw Thailand drop to third, one point behind Malaysia who beat Indonesia 2-0 in the group's other match on Tuesday.

Abdy Bashimov and Altymyrat Annadurdyyev found the back of the net as Turkmenistan backed up Thursday’s 3-1 success against DPR Korea to move to nine points from five matches.

Ante Miše’s side are now a single point ahead of Korea Republic, who hold a game in hand, while Sri Lanka remain at the bottom of the group without a goal or a point after five matches.

Ward Al Salama’s first-half goal proved the difference at Dubai’s Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium as Syria, despite not always having things their own way against a spirited Philippines outfit, went on to ensure another three-point haul and to add yet more momentum to an already impressive campaign.

The result leaves Syria eight points clear of China PR in second and well on track to guarantee their progress, while their opponents remain third in the table with seven points from their five matches.

Ikhsan Fandi gave Singapore the lead in the first half before a Mohammad Hafiz Nor stunner after the break secured three points for Tatsuma Yoshida's charges at the Sheikh Ali Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Stadium.

The win took Singapore into third place on seven points, with Uzbekistan (9) and Saudi Arabia (8) ahead of the Southeast Asian side.