The West Asians showed great mental strength to overcome a stiff challenge from Lebanon to prevail 2-0 on Matchday One, following that up with a 6-0 win over DPR Korea to leave them needing just a point against Saudi Arabia in their final Group E match on Thursday to seal top spot.

Two players who have particularly caught the eye are forwards Almoez Ali and Akram Afif but goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb, in acknowledging the contributions of the two, said a collective effort is driving Qatar's success.

Australia notched up a second win in a row on Tuesday with a 3-2 victory over Syria that took them into the Round of 16 following an earlier victory over Palestine as the Socceroos claimed second place in Group B.

The win over the Syrians in an incident-packed game was sparked by Mabil’s second goal of the tournament and the FC Midtjylland striker said the challenges of a demanding group gave the Australians a jolt ahead of their progress to the next phase of the competition.

Collina was in capital of the United Arab Emirates during the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 group stage as part of the preparation for the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system from the competition's quarter-finals - a decision he feels is correct.

"It is a wise decision as far as I am concerned to introduce VAR at the quarter-final stage because this is line with the pool of qualified referees that are available. The referees need to have the VAR license from IFAB (International Football Association Board)," said Collina in an interview with local media.

Already assured of qualification, Jordan drew 0-0 with Palestine on Tuesday to finish top of Group B with a highly creditable seven points from their three games.

With Jordan now scheduled to meet the third-placed team from either Group A, C or D in Dubai on Sunday, Abdel Rahman is adamant that the 2004 and 2011 quarter-finalists are more than ready for the next round of the competition.

The stalemate, coupled with Syria’s last gasp loss to Australia, saw Palestine finish third in the group on two points and still in contention for a place in the next round ahead of Matchday Three action in four more groups.

Despite Palestine being forced to play a potentially nervy waiting game, Ould Ali was quick to declare that he was more than happy to be in such a position, especially given the difficult nature of the group his team were in.

Bahrain dominated the match from the start but failed to find the net going into the break at the Sharjah Stadium. But a late penalty strike from Jamal Rashed and with the United Arab Emirates-Thailand tie ending 1-1, the outcome was in Soukup’s side’s favour.

Bahrain leap-frogged Stephen Constantine’s India to claim third place on four points, confirming them as one of the best four third-placed teams who will advance to the Round of 16.

Thitiphan Puangjan scored four minutes before the half-time break to cancel out Ali Mabkhout’s seventh minute opener for Alberto Zaccheroni’s side to ensure the teams shared the points at Al Ain’s Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in their Group A clash on Monday.

That meant the UAE finished on top with Thailand second ahead of Bahrain thanks to their superior head-to-head record over the West Asians, who claimed a late win over India to also book their place in the Round of 16.