Ali Ahmed Mabkhout needed just 14 seconds to put the United Arab Emirates ahead as they went on to beat Bahrain 2-1 on Thursday and secure a rare Asian Cup quarter-finals appearance.
India left their scoring boots and luck behind while hosts United Arab Emirates found both after a subdued opener to record a 2-0 win in the AFC Asian Cup in Dubai on Thursday.
The United Arab Emirates gladly made the most of a woeful performance from Qatari goalkeeper Qasem Burhan to rout the Gulf Cup winners 4-1 in their Asian Cup opener on Sunday.
Qatar smashed 15 unanswered goals past Bhutan and the United Arab Emirates knocked in 10 against Malaysia in a lopsided round of World Cup qualifiers across Asia on Thursday
Australia stunned the United Arab Emirates with two goals in the first 14 minutes to reach a second successive Asian Cup final, where they will meet South Korea.
Sunil Chhetri, playing in his 121st international in the SAFF Championship, struck in the 27th minute to place himself just a goal shy of legendary Brazillian Pele (77 goals from 92 matches).
Australia made the worst possible start to the defence of their Asian Cup crown on Sunday as Graham Arnold's Socceroos were handed a 1-0 defeat by unfancied Jordan.
Boualem Khoukhi's early strike and an eighth goal of the tournament from striker Almoez Ali gave Qatar a 2-0 halftime lead with Hassan Al-Haydos and Hamid Ismail completing the rout in the last 10 minutes.
Four days after creating a flutter with a stunning 4-1 drubbing of Thailand, India are now looking an upbeat lot in the continental showpiece.
China's hopes of qualifying for next year's World Cup finals hang by the thinnest of threads after an injury time goal from Ahmed Al Saleh saw Syria hold Marcello Lippi's team to a 2-2 draw on Tuesday evening.
Images and a round-up of all the World Cup qualifiers played across continents on Tuesday.
