Naif Hazzazi gave the hosts the lead with a 58the minute header. Ahmed Al-Fraidi doubled the score in the 78th minute and Mohammed Nour completed the rout ten minutes later.

With this win Saudi Arabia move to second place in the group with five points thus keeping their hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, that will be held in Brazil, alive. Australia top the group with nine points while Oman and Thailand take the other two spots with four points each.

Saudi Arabia finally found its missing magic on a magical 11/11/11 day to defeat the dark horse of the group. Ironically, on 9/9/09, Saudi Arabia suffered an embarrassing exit against Bahrain at the same stadium in the qualifying matches of World Cup 2010 after the team drew 2-2. Saudi Arabia needed to win in order to qualify to the next round to play against New Zealand.

In front of large crowd, the Saudi team entered the match with only one thing in mind - to win. The Saudi team was quick to attack in the first ten minutes in order to establish an ascendancy in the match. An early goal would have changed the face of the match. The Saudi attacks, though incisive, were blunted by the well-organized Thai defense.

Saudi Arabian players and fans at the stadium became frustrated as time went by and no goals scored. The frustration welled over as the Saudi strikers missed a host of chances, and the half ended 0-0.

The next 45 minutes, however, saw a transformed Saudi side with Nour pushing forward with some inspirational plays. In the 58th minute, Saudi Arabia struck when Nour gave a fine pass inside the penalty box with Hazzazi waiting for it and effecting a clinical finish.

The Thais stormed back briefly, but the Saudi defense weathered the attacks. The Saudis wasted a chance when Tayseer Al-Jasem redirected the ball toward a defender after getting a fine ball inside the penalty box in front an open goal.

In the 78th minute, Al-Fraidi crowned a solo effort. He recovered a rebound ball, moved past two defenders into the box before placing the ball to the right hand sides of the goalie. The frustrated Thai players took down Nour inside the penalty box in the final moments of the game and the Saudi star struck from the spot.

Hazzazi said after the match that the players did not celebrate Eid with their families because they had pledged that Eid would be celebrated after a victory over Thailand.

Japan and Uzbekistan were the first teams to advance to the last round while Australia was humbled by Oman 1-0 and North Korea eliminated from contention.

Japan beat host Tajikistan 4-0 and Uzbekistan defeated visiting North Korea 1-0 to send both winners into the fourth and decisive round.

Iran scored an injury time equalizer to claim a share of the spoils in a thrilling 1-1 draw with Bahrain while Iraq captain Younus Mahmood scored a dramatic winner in injury time to earn his side a 1-0 victory over 10-man China.

North Korea became the first team from the 2010 World Cup to be knocked out of the running for Brazil 2014.

Australia missed a chance to advance when it was stunned by Oman, which needed the win to remain in contention. Striker Imaad al Hosni scored from close range in the 18th minute and Australia was unable to equalize.

China was also on the brink of missing a third straight World Cup after losing to Iraq 1-0.

Japan brushed aside Tajikistan in Dushanbe to preserve its unbeaten record in Asian qualifying. Striker Shinji Okazaki scored two goals for Japan, his second coming in the final seconds to put the final touch to an easy victory that keeps Japan atop Group C, ahead of second-placed Uzbekistan.

Yasuyuki Konno and Ryoichi Maeda also scored for Japan.

The loss was Tajikistan's fourth from as many group games. It reached the qualification phase only after Syria was barred by FIFA for illegally fielding a player.

Alberto Zaccheroni's team beat Tajikistan 8-0 last month, but needed a fortuitous rebound in the 36th minute from a save by Tajik goalkeeper Alisher Tuychiev for Konno to break the deadlock.

A header from Okzaki in the 61st doubled the score, and Maeda struck the ball into the top corner to beat Tuychiev in the 82nd.

In Dubai, Lee Keun-ho and captain Park Chu-young scored late second-half goals to keep the unbeaten South Koreans on top of Group B after four matches.

South Korea beat UAE 2-1 at home a month ago, but didn't break the deadlock until the 87th minute, when Lee sidefooted into an open net. Park then slid into the goalmouth to bundle the ball across the line in the second minute of injury time.

"It was unexpectedly difficult, but our players showed their will and motivation," South Korea coach Rae Chong-kwang said. "In the first half we focused on stabilizing our defense and midfield, and that's why we didn't venture deeper into their half, but in the second half we changed our tactics and it worked well." In Muscat, Oman striker Imaad al Hosni scored the winner in the 18th minute against the run of the play. Ahmed Hadeed sent a defense-splitting pass to Imaad, who hammered his shot past Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Oman, ranked 103rd, then managed to cope with the second-half pressure as the 20th-ranked Australians pressed for an equalizer.

Australia, which had gone into the match undefeated in group play, still leads the group with nine points from four games, while Oman has four points.

Saudi Arabia plays Thailand later in Riyadh. Thailand has four points from three matches while Saudi Arabia has two from same number of games.

With two games left, Oman's French coach Paul Le Guen said his team was on the right track.

"Though it is going to be a tough path, we are on the right way," he said. "The team has displayed improvement and they proved it today. We need to recover fast and then be ready for the next game against Saudi Arabia on November 15."

- With input from agencies