Vietnam had 22 shots at goal, but Chinese Taipei goalkeeper Tsai Ming-jung was the hero, as her string of saves during the match were followed by a superb denial of Pham Hoang Quynh in the crucial penalty shootut.

Chasing a first Asian Games medal in over 20 years, Chinese Taipei began with a flourish, and Yu Hsiu-chin had the ball in the back of the net inside four minutes, only for her celebration to be cut short by the assistant referee's correctly-raised flag.

Vietnam had suffered a 7-0 defeat to Japan in their final group stage outing, and they took time to settle in the quarter-final, but they began to dictate terms and the scoring chances followed, with Huynh Nhu going close twice in the space of a minute.

Jeon Ga-eul's early brace got the Koreans off to a strong start, before further goals to Lee Geum-min, Moon Mira and Lee Min-a helped them set up a semi-final clash against either Japan or DPR Korea on Tuesday.

Riding high from a 6-1 win over Tajikistan, Hong Kong started relatively strongly to keep their opponents at bay, but the writing was on the wall when Jeon made 1-0 in the 20th minute, then doubled the tally 12 minutes later.

Hong Kong may have feared the worst when Lee Geum-min made it 3-0 after just 34 minutes, but - despite a vast disparity in statistics measuring possession and shots at goal - Jose Ricardo Rambo's side kept the score relatively competitive thanks to a string of saves from Leung Wai-Nga in goal.

Japan will face Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals on Monday.

Group E winners Malaysia were tested from the start by Japan, who applied heavy pressure and dominated possession, but despite the East Asians’ best efforts in final third, the 2017 SEA Games runners-up held a solid defence.

Ong Kim Swee’s charges moved mostly on the counter-attack but a goal eluded them, as Japan’s backline reacted quickly to keep the game goalless going into the break at the Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium.

Saudi Arabia were spectacular as they bagged four goals in the first 60 minutes and survived a late Chinese revival to seal a quarter-final match-up with the winners of the Japan-Malaysia tie.

In the opening minutes, Group C winners China flexed their muscles as they held the lion’s share of possession and pressed Saudi Arabia, who came into the Round of 16 tie as one of the best third-placed teams.

However in the 16th minute, a Saudi Arabia counter-attack caught the Chinese backline offguard with Ayman Shafiq Al Khulaif surging down the middle before sending a brilliant through pass to Haroune Moussa Camara and the forward easily beat goalkeeper Chen Wei to claim the lead for his side.

The match had ended 2-2 after extra time with UAE winning the shoot-out 4-3. They will play the winners of the Bangladesh-DPR Korea tie in the quarter-finals.

It was action right from the start as UAE had early looks at goal with efforts from Mohammed Almesmari and Rashed Musabbah in the first three minutes, which kept Indonesian goalkeeper Andritany Ardhiyasa busy.

Bangladesh had never reached the knockout stage of the tournament previously and they fell back in their own half from the start against a Korean side who finished runners-up in 2014.

Kim Yu Song drew first blood for DPR Korea with a penalty in the 13th minute and the East Asians almost doubled their tally when Kim Yong Il was denied by the woodwork three minutes later.

Ju Song Il’s men showed their authority on the pitch as Bangladesh were left to chase shadows and it was not long before DPR Korea doubled their advantage through Han Yong Thae in the 38th minute.

In their best display yet in the tournament, a goal in each half from Hwang Ui-jo and Lee Seung-woo were sufficient to seal a convincing win over IR Iran and set up a quarter-final tie with 2018 AFC U23 champions Uzbekistan, who beat Hong Kong 3-0 earlier on Thursday. 

Defending champions Korea Republic applied heavy pressure from the first blow of the whistle but IR Iran matched the East Asians’ intensity with their own aggressive playstyle, setting the stage for a highly entertaining match.

Despite Korea Republic’s best efforts in the final third in the opening minutes, it was IR Iran’s Younes Delfi who came closest to opening the scoring with a right-footed shot that struck the crossbar.

Just a minute later, Hwang saw his effort hit the right post.