The Central Asians took the lead through Ozodbek Panzhiev’s volley in the 38th minute, with Suphanat Mueanta scoring the equaliser in the 81st minute only for Zairov to score the winner with his header three minutes later.

The moment referee Shukri Hussain Alhunfush blew the final whistle, the Tajikistan bench ran onto the pitch in celebration as the win meant a quarter-final meeting with Group B winners DPR Korea on Sunday.

Tajikistan - who rebounded from a 6-2 defeat to Malaysia to hold Japan to a 0-0 draw on Matchday Two, needed a win while hoping Japan would beat Malaysia for the Central Asians to reach the quarter-finals.

For Thailand, who defeated Malaysia 4-2 in their second match, a win would have been enough to make the knockout stage berth.

With Japan defeating Malaysia 2-0, Tajikistan advanced as Group A runners-up.

Malaysia had opened their campaign with a 6-2 win over Tajikistan but suffered a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Thailand in their second match.

Japan defeated Thailand 5-2 in their opening match but were then held to a 0-0 draw by a plucky Tajikistan, meaning whoever won on Thursday would advance to the quarter-finals.

There was joy for Oman too despite the defeat as they advanced to the last eight as the runners-up after Yemen stunned Jordan 5-1 in the group's other match.

Both sides went into the match tied on four points with Oman leading the standings on goal difference, having opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Yemen, and twice coming from behind to salvage a 2-2 draw with Jordan.

It had been the reverse for DPR Korea, who kicked off their tournament with a hard fought 2-2 draw with Jordan, before claiming a 1-0 victory over Yemen.

Jordan kickstarted their campaign with a 2-2 draw against DPR Korea and picked up another point in a 2-2 stalemate with Oman on Monday and a win against already eliminated Yemen would have seen them progress to the knockout stage.

Yemen, who lost 2-0 to Oman in their opener and 1-0 to DPR Korea, started the match with purpose as they camped in the Jordanian half in the opening minutes and scored two quick goals to stun their opponents.

With Indonesia and India playing to a draw to finish with five points, Iran had to be satisfied with third place in the group.

Iran, who opened their campaign with a 2-0 loss to Indonesia and then were held 0-0 by India, showed their intent within the first minute through Amir Shabani’s volley that forced Vietnamese goalkeeper Nguyen Duy Dung into making his first save of the night.

Vietnam, who also only had one point to their name after a 1-0 defeat to India and a 1-1 draw with Indonesia, had some early chances but lacked finishing.

Both finished on five points with Indonesia topping the group and they will face the Group D runners-up in the last eight while India will face the winners.

Indonesia had opened their campaign with a 2-0 win over Islamic Republic of Iran and settled for a 1-1 draw against Vietnam while India had beaten Vietnam 1-0 in their first match and shared the spoils with Iran in a 0-0 draw.