If China somehow goes on to end their two-decade wait for a ticket to the World Cup, expect this five-goal thriller to feature heavily in the special documentary. 

Vietnam, the lowest-ranked minnows in the group, were only seconds away from snatching their first ever point in the final round of the Asian qualifiers, which would have injected much-needed impetus into the debutants' history-making campaign. 

Instead, Wu Lei fired a last-gasp winner in the fifth minute of added time to help China overcome their plucky and resilient opponents 3-2, after an insipid performance that lacked incision for long spells and a finale that could be best described as unhinged. 

After back-to-back dismal defeats to Australia and Japan, China desperately wanted to get their qualification push back on track, and Li Tie's team swarmed forward from the off, creating more chances than of late, with Wu causing havoc with his pace and movement. 

However, Vietnam managed to weather the initial threats and posed the greater threat before the interval, as the score remained 0-0. 

That set the tone for the second half, in which Vietnam were sharper and smarter than their opponents, constantly looking for a breakthrough. In contrast, Li's side seemed as though they were trudging through thick mud, their defensive line was haphazard and sloppy, they made poor decisions in dictating the tempo, and they were frequently cumbersome in their attacking forays.  

Yet, incredibly, China got away with it and even established a two-goal cushion, with Wu again instrumental in swinging the momentum in their favor. The Espanyol striker first unleashed a fierce shot in the 53rd minute and goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong could only watch as Zhang Yuning bundled the loose ball in from close range. Then, Wu combined beautifully with his former Shanghai SIPG teammate Wang Shenchao to net his ninth goal in the Asian qualifiers after 75 minutes.

When there seemed to be no time left to instigate a fightback, Vietnam displayed an obstinate refusal to surrender. Almost ridiculously, they fashioned a lifeline when Ho Tan Tai latched on to Nguyen Hoang Duc's perfectly measured long ball and sent it past Yan Junling. Then came a stunning equalizer as Nguyen Tien Linh capped dazzlingly intricate, short passing with a confident finish in the 90th minute.

Vietnam no doubt thought they had done enough to earn a draw, but there would be one last twist. 

With the game heading to a 2-2 final score, Wu continued to ask questions and combined with Wang again to slip the ball beyond the onrushing goalkeeper as Tan Truong and his drained teammates fell to the ground in despair. 

"We have a bit of luck on our side," beamed a much-relieved Li after the final whistle. "Although Vietnam leveled the score in the last minute, our players never gave up and finally won the game. The players have demonstrated their spirit and resilience. This victory is very important for us to motivate the players to train harder and play better in the next games." 

Next up for China is Saudi Arabia, who handed Japan an embarrassing 1-0 loss in front of a packed crowd at the King Abdulla Sports City in Jeddah on Thursday night. 

"Who would have thought that Japan would only notch one win and a solitary goal after three games? This just shows the cruelty of football," observed Li. "Playing against Saudi Arabia in their home stadium is certainly not easy, I hope the players are mentally prepared." 

For both Li and China, it's still early days and sterner tests will no doubt lie ahead. But at very least, they avoided a banana skin and dramatically revived the flicker of hope for a final spot in Qatar.