The Al Duhail striker, now the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals in two games, shone as his partnership with Akram Afif down the left destroyed the DPR Korean defence repeatedly while Boualem Khoukhi and Abdelkarim Hassan also put their names on the scoresheet.

Victory means Sanchez’s side have secured themselves a top two finish in the group and their win also ensures Saudi Arabia will progress to the last 16. The teams face off on Thursday to determine who will top the group, with Qatar’s huge win meaning a draw in Abu Dhabi will be enough to take pole position.

Fahad Almuwallad opened the scoring at the Al Maktoum Stadium in the 12th minute to give Saudi Arabia an early lead, before Hussain Almoqahwi sealed their convincing victory with his 67th minute sliding effort, courtesy of Bahbri’s pinpoint delivery into the box.

After securing wins against DPR Korea and Lebanon, Saudi Arabia top Group E with six points and the knockout round is in sight, having failed to make it past the group stage in the past two editions. 

Juan Antonio Pizzi's team defeated DPR Korea 4-0 on Matchday One and followed that up with a 2-0 triumph over Lebanon on Saturday.

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.

Azmoun scored twice against Vietnam on Saturday to take his tournament tally to three and move to the top of the tournament’s goalscoring chart.

However, after helping secure Team Melli’s passage through to the Round of 16, the Rubin Kazan forward insists he has no interest in personal accolades as he seeks to help Iran secure their first Continental title since 1976.

Saturday’s 2-0 win over Vietnam, along with Iraq’s later defeat of Yemen, saw Iran – who have now won their opening two games at the AFC Asian Cup for the third tournament in a row – assure themselves of a place in the knockout phase.

While Wednesday’s fixture will undoubtedly rekindle memories of Iraq’s sensational quarter-final victory over the Iranians at the AFC Asian Cup’s last edition, it will also determine who finishes top of Group D, a fact not lost on Queiroz.

The Lions of Mesopotamia produced another excellent display in the 3-0 win over Yemen on Saturday, setting themselves up nicely for a top-of-the-table meeting with Iran on Wednesday.

Goals from Mohanad Ali Kadhim and Resan, who plays his club football for Iranian giants Persepolis, gave the West Asians a 2-0 first half lead with Alaa Abbas’ late strike securing a comprehensive win for Iraq, who joined Iran at the top of the table on six points.