Australia face Kuwait at the Al Kuwait SC Stadium in their opening Group B tie and Behich, who became the 60th player to wear the captain’s armband for the Socceroos in June’s international friendly against Korea Republic in Busan, says there are several leaders in the squad for the challenges the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualification campaign will deliver.

Goals in the first half from Baha Faisal and Ahmed Sameer gave Borkelmans’ side enough of a cushion to ensure they picked up the three points, despite a late goal from Wen Chih-hao, allowing the Belgian to shift his focus to his side’s upcoming games.

Baha Faisal and Ahmad Sameer had given the Jordanians a two-goal cushion by the halftime break on a rain-soaked pitch before Weh Chih-hao’s strike for Chinese Taipei ensured a nervous final nine minutes plus stoppage time before Jordan confirmed their opening win in Group B.

Heavy rain over the preceding two days made the pitch at the Taipei Municipal Stadium a challenge for both sides, but Borkelmans’ side brushed those difficulties aside to take a two-goal lead into the half-time break.

The East Asians missed out on their first AFC Asian Cup Finals appearance since 1968 – their second of two - by a solitary point as they fell short of qualifying at the hands of Bahrain and Turkmenistan.

But for a team from a nation where baseball dominates the sporting scene, those performances have given Chinese Taipei a greater sense of belief.

The 1980 AFC Asian Cup winners were returninig to the Qualifiers after five years, having missed out on the 2019 qualifying campaign following their suspension by FIFA.