Vintage Khribin
Syria moved within touching distance of the continental showpiece and they had the mercurial Omar Khribin to thank as former AFC Player of the Year played the captain's role to perfection.

The winger, who plays for UAE Pro League side Al Wahda, was in scintillating form as he netted a hat-trick in Syria's 5-1 win over Myanmar.

That saw the West Asian side opening a three-point lead at the top of the Group E standings and Syria will be counting on their skipper to lead from the front again in Tuesday's reverse fixture, where victory will book their ticket to the Finals with two matches to spare.

Kristensen powering Philippines
Khribin, however, wasn't the highest scorer on Thursday, with that honour going to Bjorn Kristensen who netted all the goals in the Philippines' 4-1 defeat of Timor-Leste in Group A.

Equally adept playing as a forward or winger, the 23-year-old took his tally to seven goals, having scored twice in the Southeast Asian side's 2-2 draw with Tajikistan and once in the 4-1 victory against Maldives.

Philippines will expect Kristensen, who plays his club football with Norwegian outfit KFUM-Kameratene Oslo, to continue banging in the goals as they seek only a second appearance at the continental showpiece.

Sri Lanka living a dream
They still have some hard work ahead but for the moment, Sri Lanka are in dreamland.

Turkmenistan were expected to cruise past them, with the Central Asian side top of the Group D standings going into the match but Sri Lanka had other ideas.

A resilient performance saw them notching a 1-0 win which took them to six points - level with Turkmenistan and Thailand - and the South Asian side will leave no stone unturned to confirm a first ever appearance at the Finals.

Resilient Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong, China just don't know how to give up and their indomitable spirit sees them well on course for a second successive appearance at the continental showpiece.

It looked to be a case of two points dropped when they conceded a stoppage time equaliser against an impressive Bangladesh but Raphael Merkies chose the right time to complete his hat-trick, with the forward netting in the 11th minute of time added on to steal the points.

The win means Hong Kong, China have a two-point lead at the top of Group C and within sight of a second successive appearance at the Finals, having waited 55 years to qualify for Qatar 2023.

No holds barred clashes
Such is the determination of the 24 sides to book their spots at Saudi Arabia 2027 that only one of Thursday's ties ended in a goalless draw - Pakistan's Group E tie against Afghanistan.

The only other match to end in a stalemate was the Group C encounter between Singapore and India, which finished 1-1 with the South Asian side equalising in the 90th minute.

Fans can expect more of the same on Tuesday as the sides look to either strengthen their grip on the qualifying spots or revive their campaigns.