Vietnam began their campaign by taking the lead twice against Iraq in their group opener, but the Golden Dragons eventually lost 3-2 through a 90th minute Ali Adnan Karim strike.

Following their 2-0 loss to three-time champions Islamic Republic of Iran on Matchday Two, Vietnam squeezed into the Round of 16 after beating Yemen 2-0, coupled with a better fairplay record over Lebanon.

Against Jordan in the last 16, the West Asians took the lead but Nguyen Công Phuong’s strike in the second half pushed the game into a penalty shootout, with Vietnam emerging victorious.

Iran, said China head coach Marcello Lippi, are the top team in Asia and there is a reason why the Central Asians has occupied the spot.

"Obviously Iran are one of the top teams in Asia, they played well at the (2018) FIFA World Cup and here too, are physically very strong, organised and have very good quality," said Lippi at Wednesday's pre-match press conference.

After squeezing into the knockout stage as the third-placed team in Group D, the Southeast Asians confounded pre-match predictions to beat Jordan on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Round of 16.

Park Hang-seo's side's run to the quarter-finals is the latest achievement in a whirlwind 12 months, which has included reaching the final of the AFC U-23 Championship, the semi-finals of the Asian Games, and winning the AFF Championship.

From a starting field of 24 teams, only an exclusive eight remain, with four mouth-watering matches - each containing a former champion - set to be played on Thursday and Friday.

Then just 25, the lanky shot-stopper had established himself as the number one goalkeeper for both club and country, but it was at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Russia that Beiranvand really made his name, saving a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo and thrusting his name into the international spotlight.

Suddenly everyone in the world knew the name Alireza Beiranvand.

Bassam Al Rawi’s sublime free-kick in the second half of an absorbing tie helped seal the success, as Qatar racked up a fourth successive victory to guarantee themselves a third AFC Asian Cup quarter-final appearance after reaching the same stage in both 2000 and 2011.

With their last eight encounter against Korea Republic to come at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City Stadium on Friday, Sanchez feels Qatar’s current campaign in the United Arab Emirates points to a particularly bright future for his team – especially with the 2022 FIFA World Cup edging ever closer.

The Koreans looked to be on their way to a comfortable win when Hwang Hee-chan put them in front two minutes before half-time but, after Bento’s side missed a string of chances early in the second period, Bahrain battled back to level through Mohammed Al Romaihi.

That took the game into extra-time, where a fine header from Kim Jin-su in stoppage time at the end of the first period won the match for the Koreans to set up their meeting with Qatar in the last eight.