In their group opener against Qatar on Wednesday, Lebanon held their opponents to a goalless first half, but were struck in the second half by goals from Bassam Al Rawi and Almoez Ali.

Sitting third in the group standings behind Qatar and Saudi Arabia, who have three points each, Lebanon head coach Miodrag Radulovic said his team must aim for a win on Saturday.

“We are so happy to start the tournament this way and to win this game, especially with the number of goals we scored,” said Pizzi. 

“What was most important was that we implemented our own style of play today. We will follow the same ambition for the coming matches.”

Both sides had met in the Continental showpiece four years ago, with Saudi Arabia winning 4-1, but DPR Korea - powered by five players who had played abroad - went into the match confident of their chances.

The opening minutes saw possession evenly balanced but as the match progressed, the Green Falcons began to dominate with their first clear chance coming in the 13th minute through Abdulaziz Al Bishi’s left-footed strike which just missed the target.

Second-half goals from Bassam Al Rawi and Almoez Ali gave the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosts all three points at the end of a challenging encounter to move Sanchez’s team level on three points with Saudi Arabia at the top of the early standings.

Borkelmans’ team secured a 2-0 win over Syria in Al Ain that guaranteed the Jordanians a top two finish in Group B, having already opened their 2019 campaign with an impressive 1-0 win over defending champions Australia.

Those results mean Jordan will finish no lower than second in the group no matter what happens in the remaining matches and the country will advance to the knockout rounds of the AFC Asian Cup for the third time since making their debut at the competition in 2004.

The recently-crowned AFF Cup champions may have among the youngest squads in the AFC Asian Cup but that, promised Park, won't stop them from giving Carlos Queiroz's Iran a tough fight.

And Iran, said Queiroz, expect that from a side the Team Melli head coach is highly impressed with.

Iraq twice trailed in their opener against Vietnam, but produced a late fightback to collect three valuable points in a five-goal thriller at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday.

After the win against Vietnam, Katanec believes his team are well prepared to face Yemen.