The teams are preparing for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 and the matches allowed the coaches of all the sides to have an in depth look at their respective squads before the Continental showpiece kicks off on January 5.

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VIETNAM 1-1 DPR KOREA

Vietnam, fresh from winning the 2018 AFF Championship, took the lead in the 54th minute through Nguyen Tien Linh.

DPR Korea, however, fought back to equalise through Jong Il-Gwan in the 81st minute.

Asia’s record five representatives at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia maintained their stronghold to stay within the top five with Iran retaining their season’s best in 29th place. Team Melli, whose last of three AFC Asian Cup triumphs was in 1976, are in Group D with Iraq, Vietnam and Yemen.

Despite falling five places from June this year, defending champions Australia, who are in Group B alongside Jordan, Syria and Palestine, find themselves in 41st position and will land in the UAE as Asia’s second ranked team.

With just 11 days to go before the Continental showpiece kicks off, Pizzi said the players selected are the best to carry Saudi Arabia's challenge in UAE 2019.

"We have been watching and evaluating the performance of each player with his club and we examined all possibilities as to what they can provide to the team.

"We also took into consideration whether they participated in previous training camps and know the way the technical staff work," said Pizzi to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation website.

The Oman Football Association has called up Ammar Al Rashidi to replace veteran Al Habsi, the team captain who has been a mainstay in all previous AFC Asian Cup campaigns for the West Asian side.

His absence will be a blow to Oman, who were aiming to build on their 2017 Gulf Cup success in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

Andersen was at the helm of the team as they secured their berth at the Finals with a 2-0 victory over Hong Kong in Pyongyang in March before standing down to eventually join K League side Incheon United.

The former Norway international striker has since been replaced by Kim Yong-jun, who will take the squad into the Finals, but Andersen is confident DPR Korea can progress to the knockout phase of the competition for the first time since 1980 as one of the qualifiers from Group E.

Ahmad Ibrahim (pictured above) opened the scoring in the 22nd minute for the West Asians, but China made sure they went into the break level as star striker Wu Lei equalised two minutes before the half-time whistle.

However, it was 2007 AFC Asian Cup winners Iraq who prevailed, courtesy of Ali’s goal in the 69th minute.

Jeggo, 26, has been playing regularly in the Austrian Bundesliga for his club FK Austria Wien this season and will add a defensive option to Graham Arnold’s midfield mix for the tournament.

Socceroos head coach Arnold said: “James has been performing really well in Austria and is a fantastic character, so we are very happy to have him join the squad. Initially James was very unlucky to miss out on the squad, but sometimes these things happen in football and we are glad we can provide him with this opportunity.

"James has thrived at club level playing in a defensive midfield role and with three attacking central midfielders already in the squad, we felt we needed someone with James’ attributes to provide some depth in that area.”