Schwarzer looked to have cost the Socceroos the match when he brought down Qu Bo in the area, but he instantly made amends by stopping Shao Jiayi’s spot kick to keep Australia top of the Group 1 standings.

Playing at high-altitude in Kunming, China paid the price for their failure in front of goal, with Zhu Ting squandering several chances against an Australia team depleted by injuries to their European-based players.

"To lose that match to a late penalty would have been a disaster for us because I thought we deserved to get something out of the game," Schwarzer told Australian television.

"When you look at the preparation we’ve had it’s an amazing result."

In Tashkent, Uzbekistan trounced four-time World Cup qualifiers Saudi Arabia to move a step closer to their first-ever finals.

Timur Kapadze scored just before the break for Uzbekistan, Maksim Shatskikh added another on 65 minutes and Server Djeparov cnverted a spot kick two minutes later to move the Uzbeks three points clear at the top.

Bosnian-born striker Aleksandar Duric scored his third qualifying goal to help Singapore see off Lebanon 2-0 in the other Group 4 match.

South Korea were held to a surprise draw by archrivals North Korea in a politically-charged Group 3 qualifier played in Shanghai after a row over flags and national anthems.

The draw humbled South Korea, Asia’s most successful World Cup team, but the point was enough to stay top on goal difference ahead of their northern rivals.

Turkmenistan were beaten 2-0 at home by Jordan in the other Group 3 game.

Oman struck after just 26 seconds to condemn Thailand to their second successive defeat and all but rule out their chance of reaching their first World Cup.

Seconds after the kick off, Ismail Al Ajmi broke free in the area to convert a right-wing cross to defeat a resilient Thai side who failed to find the net in more than a dozen clear-cut chances.

"To win away from home is amazing," Oman’s Uruguayan coach Julio Cesar Ribas told reporters." This has been a big boost to our chances of World Cup qualification."

The visitors soaked up 89 minutes of constant pressure from the Thais, with Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi fending off a barrage of attacks from strikers Teerathep Winothai and Teerasin Dangda.

"It was a very difficult game, we were under pressure all the time, but we did just enough to win," Al Habsi told Reuters.

In the all-Middle East Group 5, part-timers Syria earned a 1-1 draw with Gulf champions the United Arab Emirates.