Sunday's defeat to Jordan seemed a distant memory when goals to Jamie Maclaren and Awer Mabil had the Socceroos 2-0 up within 20 minutes, before substitute Apostolos Giannou added a late third.

The result sees Australia leapfrog Palestine and Syria into second place in the group, with Noureddine Ould Ali's side dropping to fourth with one Matchday remaining.

The recently-crowned AFF Cup champions may have among the youngest squads in the AFC Asian Cup but that, promised Park, won't stop them from giving Carlos Queiroz's Iran a tough fight.

And Iran, said Queiroz, expect that from a side the Team Melli head coach is highly impressed with.

The 1996 runners-up were held to a 1-1 draw by Bahrain on Matchday One, a result which raised doubts as to the genuine title credentials of a side which also finished third at the last continental extravaganza in Australia.

However, goals in either half from Khalfan Mubarak and Ali Mabkhout saw the Emiratis overcome a resilient India to go top of Group A and breathe new life into their bid to reach the tournament’s Round of 16.

After a goalless first half, Chanathip Songkrasin fired home a superb shot that eventually sealed Thailand’s 1-0 victory, reviving their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Group A campaign.

“I felt that we did very well, especially in the second half,” Yodyadthai said.

“The players delivered what I wanted although we had adjusted a few tactical points from the last game. The players kept going and compliments to Bahrain for a strong match. We are very happy with the result and we will come back (better) for the next game.”

The Jordanians have impressed in their opening two matches, notching up wins over defending champions Australia and a Syria side that narrowly missed out on booking a berth at last year’s FIFA World Cup Finals.

Al Tamari has been instrumental in his team’s showing, scoring with an instinctive finish to give Jordan the lead on Thursday against Syria while also playing a key role in his side’s other two goals over the first two match days.

Afif and his compatriots notched up a 2-0 win over Lebanon in Al Ain on Wednesday thanks to goals from Bassam Al Rawi and Almoez Ali as Qatar made a winning start to the continental championship for the first time in almost 40 years.

The victory ensures Felix Sanchez and his team joined Saudi Arabia at the top of the early standings in Group E and that the Qataris go into their next game against DPR Korea knowing victory will effectively seal their spot in the Round of 16.

Chances came and went for India on a night when goals from Khalfan Mubarak and Ali Mabkhout left a talented Indian side with plenty to ponder following their earlier success against Thailand.

"I am proud of the boys, I don't think people would have expected we could have performed the way we did against the UAE. We were very unlucky and could have scored two or three goals,” declared the JSW Bengaluru custodian.