The Taeguk Warriors boast an impressive record at the Games, having now advanced to the quarter-finals in four of the past five editions, most notably in 2012 when goals from Park Chu-young and Koo Ja-cheol helped them defeat East Asian rivals Japan 2-0 to win the bronze medal.

Fast forward nine years to the current edition of the Olympics and it is the 2012 gold medalists Mexico who stand in the way of a return to the semi-finals after Korea stormed to a 6-0 victory over Honduras in Wednesday's final round of group matches.

Trailing 2-1 with less than two minutes remaining, the Matildas stayed in the contest thanks to last-gasp Kerr equaliser, setting the scene for a wild, seesawing period of extra time at the Kashima Stadium.

The Nadeshiko, despite struggling to produce their customary high standards, squeezed into the last eight as one of the two best third-placed teams but ultimately found Sweden a mountain too high to conquer as the hosts fell to a 3-1 defeat.

Magdalena Eriksson opened the scoring for Sweden in the seventh minute with Mina Tanaka equalising in the 23rd but the European side - unbeaten in more than 16 months - turned on the power in the second half with Stina Blackstenius and Kosovare Asllani (penalty) taking them through to a semi-final against Australia.

Japan are the only team in the last eight with a perfect record after wins over South Africa, Mexico and France as they finished top of Group A, but the former Sanfrecce Hiroshima head coach stressed that those results now count for little.

The reigning AFC Asian Cup champions matched the United States for the most part of their semi-final but were finally undone by Gyasi Zardes' 86th minute winner.

The final result may well have been different had Hassan Al Haydos converted a 54th minute penalty, which could have taken Qatar into the final against Mexico but Sanchez had no regrets as the West Asian side continue their preparations for the FIFA World Cup Finals 2022 on home soil.

The race to the AFC Champions League Quarter-finals will take centrestage on September 14 with the commencement of the Round of 16 (East) battles, which will see reigning champions Ulsan Hyundai FC take on Japan's Kawasaki Frontale, while Daegu FC, who will be appearing in the Round of 16 for the first time, will face-off against Nagoya Grampus on the same day.

In addition, the four participating clubs have also been confirmed with host side Amman Club, FC Bunyodkor from Uzbekistan, Islamic Republic of Iran’s Shahrdari Sirjan and Gokulam Kerala FC from India scheduled to compete for Continental supremacy from November 7 to 12, 2021 at the Aqaba Development Corporate Stadium in the country’s capital of Amman.