Oman defeated Turkmenistan 3-1 on Thursday, with Muhsen Al Ghassani and Mohammed Al Musallami scoring late goals after the Central Asian side had equalised through Altymyrat Annadurdyyev following Ahmed Al Mahaijri's opener in the 20th minute.

The three points meant Oman squeezed into the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed finishers, having fallen 2-1 and 1-0 to Uzbekistan and Japan respectively in their earlier Group F matches.

That, said, Verbeek, is the main reason why Oman deserve their spot in the Round of 16, their first in four appearances in the Finals.

The line-up was confirmed on Thursday, when Oman and Vietnam claimed the Round of 16's two remaining places, setting the scene for what promises to be an unforgettable climax to the largest ever edition of the competition.

Oman's reward for sealing a spot in the UAE 2019 knockout stage for the first time in four appearances at the Finals is a meeting with either Group C winners Korea Republic or Islamic Republic of Iran, who topped Group D.

With the top two spots in the group not within reach, Japan finishing as group winners with a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan, both sides were playing for third place which a win by two goals would seal.

Turkmenistan had produced a gritty performance in their opener before going 3-2 down to Japan but found Uzbekistan too strong as they fell 4-0. Oman, meanwhile, suffered one goal defeats to both - 2-1 to Uzbekistan and 1-0 to Japan.

Yoshinori Muto and Tsukasa Shiotani scored for Japan after Eldor Shomurodov had given Uzbekistan the lead and Hector Cuper’s side will now face Australia in the Round of 16 while the Japanese will face the Group E runners-up, either Saudi Arabia or Qatar.

Moriyasu made 10 changes from the team that started the 1-0 win over Oman, with striker Koya Kitagawa the only player to survive the Japan coach’s decision to overhaul his line-up.

The prolific 22-year-old struck either side of the break to take his tournament tally to seven on a night when Qatar registered a third successive group stage victory to head into the Round of 16 with momentum galore and leave their opponents occupying second place.

Qatar, quarter-finalists in 2000 and 2011, are now scheduled to meet Iraq in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, while three-time champions Saudi Arabia will face Japan in Sharjah a day earlier.

Lebanon lost out to Vietnam on the fairplay rule after both teams finished with identical points and goal difference.

Lebanon needed to win by four clear goals to advance but despite a valiant effort, they fell just short.

Lebanon had the first look at goal from a free-kick in the sixth minute but Hassan Maatouk saw his effort blocked by a sea of defenders.

Having already qualified for the Round of 16, Wednesday’s 2-0 win over regional rivals China PR made it three wins from three for Paulo Bento’s charges as they claimed pole position in Group C without conceding a goal.

Despite his side’s flying start, Son, who only joined the squad earlier this week, is adamant that the two-time champions of Asia remain determined to improve even further.