Nguyen Tien Linh’s super strike was the difference as Vietnam held on for victory at My Dinh Stadium on Thursday to move top of Group E, while the UAE dropped to third place with six points from two wins and two defeats.

Vietnam still have four games left in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualification, and their next match is against regional rivals Thailand in Hanoi on Tuesday.

China PR and Islamic Republic of Iran suffered defeats, as did the United Arab Emirates while Korea Republic were held to a goalless draw by a battling Lebanon in Beirut.

Australia and Japan stayed perfect as they both recorded their fourth consecutive wins while Saudi Arabia showed great determination, twice coming from behind to defeat Uzbekistan.

Stay with the-AFC.com as we bring you the latest on the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, with Matchday Six coming up on Tuesday.

Thailand’s 2-1 defeat to Malaysia in the other Matchday Five fixture means Vietnam overtake the War Elephants into top spot with 10 points, while the UAE drop to third place with six points from two wins and two defeats.

Chanathip Songkrasin opened the scoring for Thailand early in the match before Malaysia drew level through Brendan Gan before Sumareh earned his side three vital points at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

The 31-year-old midfielder sparked a brilliant comeback for Malaysia, who trailed to Chanathip Songkrasin’s early strike, before Gan scored one and assisted the winning goal for Mohamadou Sumareh in the second half.

Substitute Ali Abbas’ added-time strike secured the victory for Iraq who took the lead through Mohanad Ali after just 11 minutes before Iran drew level in the 25th minute through Ahmed Nourollahi.

Taggart scored after just 12 minutes in Amman, getting on the end of Jackson Irvine’s incisive pass before lifting the ball over the keeper with a classy finish.