Lux scored once in the first half, and twice in the second to seal a historic, and crucial three points for Alexander Krestinin's side, who finished third in Group C behind Korea Republic and China PR.

The result, combined with Vietnam's 2-0 win over Yemen in Al Ain three hours later, means Kyrgyz Republic cannot be dislodged from their position as one of the four highest ranked third-place teams.

With both teams already through to the competition’s knockout phase, Son, who arrived in the Emirates earlier this week after being released by Tottenham Hotspur, captained the two-time champions of Asia as goals from Hwang Ui-jo and Kim Min-Jae saw the Taeguk Warriors set up a Round of 16 meeting against one of the best third-placed finishers from either Group A, B or F in Dubai next Tuesday.

After succumbing to their first defeat of the tournament, Marcello Lippi’s Chinese side finished second in the group and will now face Thailand in Al Ain on Sunday.

Both go into the match with a perfect record of two wins, with Qatar only needing a draw to win the group on goal difference.

The group winners will face the Group D runners-up, either Islamic Republic of Iran or Iraq, while the runners-up will go up against the top-placed team from Group F - either Japan or Uzbekistan.

Both coaches - Saudi Arabia's Juan Antonio Pizzi and Felix Sanchex of Qatar - were adamant that their teams would play to win.

The two teams have guaranteed their places in the next phase of the competition after both sides posted wins over Turkmenistan and Oman, with the Uzbeks holding the advantage of a better goal-difference.

With the winners of Group F due to face either Saudi Arabia or Qatar in the Round of 16 and the runners-up slated to meet Australia, attention has been drawn towards the potential opposition in the next phase of the competition.

The stalemate, coupled with Syria’s last gasp loss to Australia, saw Palestine finish third in the group on two points and still in contention for a place in the next round ahead of Matchday Three action in four more groups.

Despite Palestine being forced to play a potentially nervy waiting game, Ould Ali was quick to declare that he was more than happy to be in such a position, especially given the difficult nature of the group his team were in.

Australia notched up a second win in a row on Tuesday with a 3-2 victory over Syria that took them into the Round of 16 following an earlier victory over Palestine as the Socceroos claimed second place in Group B.

The win over the Syrians in an incident-packed game was sparked by Mabil’s second goal of the tournament and the FC Midtjylland striker said the challenges of a demanding group gave the Australians a jolt ahead of their progress to the next phase of the competition.

Already assured of qualification, Jordan drew 0-0 with Palestine on Tuesday to finish top of Group B with a highly creditable seven points from their three games.

With Jordan now scheduled to meet the third-placed team from either Group A, C or D in Dubai on Sunday, Abdel Rahman is adamant that the 2004 and 2011 quarter-finalists are more than ready for the next round of the competition.