Mohamed Marhoon cancelled out Najjarine’s 34th minute opener with a fine free-kick in first half injury time, but it was not enough to deny the Olyroos a place in the next round or to help Bahrain towards the win they needed to stay in the competition.

The result means the Australians keep alive their hopes of a place at the Olympic Games for the first time since 2008, with the first three finishers in this year’s competition earning tickets to Tokyo 2020, while Bahrain go home.

While the result sent a jubilant Thailand through to the knockout phase of the Championship for the first time, it also signalled the end of Iraq’s title challenge as they exited the competition in the wake of three draws.

Akira Nishino’s charges, who qualified alongside table-topping Australia, will now meet the winners from Group B where Saudi Arabia, Syria and Qatar are all still in contention to advance.

Sanchez’s side have drawn both of their opening games – against Syria and Saudi Arabia – to sit in third place in the standings on two points, two points adrift of the leading duo with just one round of matches remaining.

With the Syrians and Saudi Arabia due to face each other at Thammasat Stadium, Qatar's hopes are hanging by a thread as should the other match end in a draw, the head-to-head record of the three teams will come into play.

Hakeem’s charges currently top the standings after drawing with Qatar on Matchday One and then recording an impressive win over Japan last time out.

The two sides have relocated from Songkhla to Pathum Thani, but Kim hopes his side’s results will remain the same after recording wins over China PR and Islamic Republic of Iran with vastly different starting line-ups.

The knockout stage has come early for Iran, who must beat China - and hope Uzbekistan lose to Korea Republic in Pathum Thani - to have any chance of reaching the last eight of the competition.

After a goalless draw against Vietnam on Matchday One, UAE took just 17 minutes to find the back of the net through Khalifa Al Hammadi before Zayed Al Ameri doubled their lead to seal the victory.

The result at Buriram Stadium left UAE with four points in Group D, on level terms with Jordan, who settled for a 0-0 draw against Vietnam.