Lebanon came back from a goal down to defeat Lebanon, but their four goals were not enough as they lost to Vietnam on the fairplay rule after both teams finished with identical points and goal difference.

Son, who only arrived in the Emirates earlier this week after being released by club side Tottenham Hotspur, proved to be a key figure throughout the victory, earning a successfully converted first-half penalty and then seeing Kim Min-Jae head home from his corner on 51 minutes.

The win was the Taeguk Warriors’ third in as many games, a run of form which has seen them finish top of Group C and leave Bento admitting that the addition of Son brings a whole host of positives.

Lebanon lost out to Vietnam on the fairplay rule after both teams finished with identical points and goal difference.

Lebanon needed to win by four clear goals to advance but despite a valiant effort, they fell just short.

Lebanon had the first look at goal from a free-kick in the sixth minute but Hassan Maatouk saw his effort blocked by a sea of defenders.

Yoshinori Muto and Tsukasa Shiotani scored for Japan after Eldor Shomurodov had given Uzbekistan the lead and Hector Cuper’s side will now face Australia in the Round of 16 while the Japanese will face the Group E runners-up, either Saudi Arabia or Qatar.

Moriyasu made 10 changes from the team that started the 1-0 win over Oman, with striker Koya Kitagawa the only player to survive the Japan coach’s decision to overhaul his line-up.

Eldor Shomurodov gave the Uzbeks the lead five minutes before half time but a 43rd minute header from Yoshinori Muto and a long-range drive by Tsukasa Shiotani in the second half earned Moriyasu’s side all three points despite the coach making wholesale changes to his starting line-up.

“I think how we kept doing what we needed to do was one key reason we won,” said the former Sanfrecce Hiroshima coach. “If the players stopped doing something or if their heads went down after the first goal we couldn’t have scored our first goal.

“But their heads didn’t go down, they were very positive. That’s why we were able to equalise and that led to our performance in the second half.”

Oman defeated Turkmenistan 3-1 on Thursday, with Muhsen Al Ghassani and Mohammed Al Musallami scoring late goals after the Central Asian side had equalised through Altymyrat Annadurdyyev following Ahmed Al Mahaijri's opener in the 20th minute.

The three points meant Oman squeezed into the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed finishers, having fallen 2-1 and 1-0 to Uzbekistan and Japan respectively in their earlier Group F matches.

That, said, Verbeek, is the main reason why Oman deserve their spot in the Round of 16, their first in four appearances in the Finals.

The line-up was confirmed on Thursday, when Oman and Vietnam claimed the Round of 16's two remaining places, setting the scene for what promises to be an unforgettable climax to the largest ever edition of the competition.