The tournament hosts had Ali Mabkhout to thank that the game ended after 90 minutes, with the Al Jazira striker scoring the only goal of the game midway through the second half when he capitalised on Milos Degenek’s poor back pass to round Maty Ryan and roll the ball home.

Zaccheroni’s defence then held firm as the Socceroos threw everything forward in an attempt to keep the defence of the title they won on home soil four years ago alive, only for those attempts to flounder.

Degenek’s mishit back pass was leapt on by Ali Mabkhout and the Al Jazira striker rounded Maty Ryan to score the 68th minute winner and take his country into the semi-finals of the AFC Asian Cup for the second tournament in a row.

“I’ve been in charge for eight games and have been changing the style and if you look, tonight there were four players who played at the World Cup,” said Arnold.

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.

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.

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.