The win places Saudi Arabia on top of the Group E standings with six points, and they will seal their place in the knockout stage should DPR Korea not beat Qatar on Sunday.

Lebanon, defeated 2-0 by Qatar on Matchday One, will have to beat DPR Korea if they are to have a chance of advancing as one of the four best third-place teams.

Sanchez’s side eventually secured a 2-0 win over the West Asian side with goals from Abdulaziz Hatem and Almoez Ali, but they had to wait to break down Miodrag Radulovic’s well-drilled Lebanese side.

The Spanish coach, though, praised his team’s patient approach and has no intention of a different approach when they take on DPR Korea, with victory almost certain to take the Qataris into the next phase of the competition.

Iraq’s second successive victory - having defeated Vietnam 3-2 on Matchday One - meant Srecko Katanec’s team join Islamic Republic of Iran on six points with Wednesday’s clash with Team Melli to determine who finishes at the top of the standings.

Iran defeated Vietnam 2-0 earlier on Saturday. For Yemen, it was their second defeat after having lost 5-0 to Iran in their opener.

At a wonderfully atmospheric Al Nahyan Stadium, two goals from Sardar Azmoun ensured the Iranians made it six points from six – an impressive start to a campaign which has now seen the three-time champions of Asia guarantee their progress to the knockout phase along with Iraq who beat Yemen in the group’s later game.

With one round of matches still to come, Vietnam must beat Yemen to stand any chance of sealing their place in the next round as one of the best third-place finishers.

Four-time AFC Asian Cup champions Japan raised their game after trailing 1-0 against Turkmenistan at the break but some tweaking by Moriyasu saw a vastly different side in the second half as the Samurai Blue eventually won 3-2.

Oman, having suffered a 2-1 defeat to Uzbekistan in their opener, need a win to keep their hopes alive and head coach Pim Verbeek promised that his team will give it their all at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

With three points in the bag after their 2-1 win over Oman, the White Wolves can seal their place in the Round of 16 with a win over their neighbours, and continue their impressive record of not missing the knockout stage since 2000.

Speaking ahead of the tie, Cuper said he had been impressed by a Turkmenistan side which led Japan before ultimately losing 3-2 in their opening match.

The 25-year-old came into the crucial tie under pressure following Australia's 1-0 defeat to Jordan and a series of quiet displays for the national team, but he silenced his critics with a superb 18th-minute header which was followed by further goals to Awer Mabil and Apostolos Giannou in their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Group B tie.

Maclaren told the-AFC.com the early goal made for a vastly different experience than the one endured against the Jordanians.