With the remaining teams all having proven their quality, the scene is now set for two mouth-watering semi-finals, with the winners to progress to the AFC Asian Cup Final at Abu Dhabi's Zayed Sports City Stadium on February 1.

Mabkhout took advantage of an under-hit back pass midway through the second half to steal in behind the Australian defence and round Maty Ryan to register the only strike of the game.

Alberto Zaccheroni’s side will now take on Qatar with a place in the final at stake as the hosts moved one step closer to emulating their run to the deciding game when the tournament was last held in the UAE in 1996.

Hatim’s thunderous effort from distance settled a tense yet absorbing affair, one which sees Qatar head into their first-ever AFC Asian Cup semi-final in what is the nation's tenth appearance in the competition.

By way of contrast, the Koreans exit the tournament by the slenderest of margins having failed to make amends for their defeat in the final of the 2015 edition in Australia.

Qatar will now meet host nation the United Arab Emirates, who beat Australia in the day's later game, in the last four on Tuesday.

Iran shone brightly throughout the victory, with goals from Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun and substitute Karim Ansarifard ultimately making the difference as Queiroz’s charges reached the last four of Asia’s premier event for the first time since 2004.

Despite their impressive form – Iran have now racked up four wins and five successive clean sheets – Queiroz remains adamant that the three-time champions of Asia are still not one of the tournament’s leading contenders ahead of next Monday’s semi-final showdown with Japan in Al Ain.

Their place in the last four against Islamic Republic of Iran was sealed with a 1-0 win over plucky Vietnam and the Japan head coach said the performance against feisty opposition was proof that the Samurai Blue are growing stronger with each passing match.

Japan dominated the tie at the Al Maktoum Stadium and shrugged off being denied a goal in the first half by a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review to advance.

Ironically, it was a VAR review that led to Japan’s goal, as they were awarded a penalty after Ritsu Doan had been brought down in the box. The midfielder then stepped up to convert.

Ritsu Doan's 57th-minute penalty sealed the Samurai Blue's fifth win in a row by a singe-goal margin, securing a place in the final four for the fifth time in the last six editions of the competition.

Like Turkmenistan, Oman and Uzbekistan before them, Vietnam made Hajime Moriyasu's side work hard for the final result, but while a consummate Japanese performance has yet to materialise, Endo said he was pleased with their building momentum.

On a night of high drama at Abu Dhabi’s Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun and substitute Karim Ansarifard all made the most of hesitant Chinese defending as Iran progressed through to the last four with relative ease.