Park Hang-seo’s men spurned several chances against UAE with Quang Hai coming close on a number of occasions while Nguyen Tien Linh was denied by goalkeeper Mohammed Al Shamsi at the very end.

The result left Vietnam third in the standings with Jordan, who the Southeast Asians must now beat on Monday to boost their chances of advancing to the knockout stage, leading the group after opening with a 2-1 win over DPR Korea.

Nguyen Quang Hai came close on a couple of occasions for Vietnam and Nguyen Tien Linh was denied a winner at the death by the Emirati goalkeeper as Park’s side settled for a point at Buriram Stadium.

After a quiet opening 15 minutes, Nguyen Quang Hai nearly struck first for Vietnam. The skipper caught goalkeeper Mohammed Al Shamsi off-guard with curled free-kick from the right flank, but the Emiratis breathed a sigh of relief as the ball passed inches off the outside of the post.

Halfway through the opening period, the UAE were gifted a golden opportunity to take the lead when Nguyen Thanh Chung failed to clear a cross from the right, allowing Jassim Yaqoob to pounce on the loose ball, but the winger miscued his kick sending the ball wide.

The 20-year-old striker contributed to Friday's 2-1 Group D victory by winning the penalty kick which was converted by Mohammed Bani Atieh in the first half, but Al Naimat could have done a lot better when one-on-one against DPR Korea goalkeeper Kang Ju-hyuk on two occasions.

Coach Abdullah Abu Ismael’s men started on the front foot and had their first big chance of the match after 11 minutes when Yazan Al Naimat embarked on a solo run, overtaking two defenders to go through on goal, but his tame finish was caught by goalkeeper Kang Ju-hyok.

Alaa Aldin Dali struck deep into stoppage time to earn his side a last gasp share of the spoils after the Syrians had been 2-0 down within 22 minutes of the encounter at the Thammasat Stadium.

Dali’s strike, coupled with a first-half effort from Abdul Rahman Barakat, capped a superb comeback after an error from goalkeeper William Ghannam and Yosief Mohammad’s own goal had threatened to cost Syria dear in their Continental opener.

The 18-year-old forward was part of an Iranian attacking unit which produced 16 shots on goal but spurned several scoring opportunities as Hamid Estili’s side were forced to settle for a one point instead of three at Tinsulanon Stadium.

With Sayyadmanesh often serving as the creator, Team Melli Omid crafted clear cut chances both before and after Islomjon Kobilov’s penalty gave Uzbekistan a 40th minute lead, but only Reza Dehghani’s equaliser 13 minutes after half time brought reward for their endeavour.