China are still a long way from the football superpower they crave to be, but under Li Tie they have offered a glimmer of hope to fans scarred by years of disappointment.

China coach Li Tie paid tribute to predecessor Marcello Lippi after rescuing the country's hopes of reaching the World Cup for only the second time.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE topped their respective groups to ease into the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday

Harry Souttar's header 15 minutes from time earned Australia an historic 1-0 win over Jordan in Wednesday's World Cup qualifier.

Striker Ado Onaiwu bagged a six-minute first-half hat-trick as Japan confirmed their dominance in Group F of Asian 2022 World Cup qualifying with a crushing 5-1 win over the Kyrgyz Republic in Suita on Tuesday.

Mathew Leckie, Fran Karacic and Martin Boyle were on target as Australia claimed a 3-0 win over Nepal, who had Rohit Chand sent off.

Indian football star Sunil Chhetri has surpassed Lionel Messi in international goals, after scoring both goals in his country's 2-0 win over Bangladesh in Doha.

Australia made it six wins out of six in World Cup qualifying Group B with an emphatic defeat of Chinese Taipei in Kuwait.

Syria joined Japan in the third round of World Cup qualifying from Asia after a first-half double by Mardak Mardikian helped them beat Guam 3-0 and confirm their top position in Group A on Monday.

Hwang Ui-jo scored a brace as South Korea thumped Turkmenistan 5-0 on Saturday to regain first place in Group H in the second phase of Asian World Cup qualifying.

Ajdin Hrustic scored his first goal for Australia as they eased to a comfortable World Cup qualifying win over Kuwait.

Several World Cup football qualifying matches scheduled to be played in China will be moved to Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, after coronavirus infections in the Syria and Maldives teams, officials said Tuesday. 

Several World Cup football qualifiers scheduled to be played in China were moved to Dubai on Monday over coronavirus infections in the Syria and Maldives teams, the Chinese Football Association said.

Off the football pitch it is a total mismatch: China's 1.4 billion population versus Guam's 170,000.

A goalkeeper boycotting Myanmar's World Cup qualifiers has urged his teammates to "stand with the people" and raise the anti-junta three-finger salute in protest at the country's military coup.