Despite creating the more clear-cut opportunities in what proved to be a tight and tense encounter at the Thammasat Stadium, the Saudis failed to convert a number of second-half chances after breaching a resolute Qatar defence.

With one game each still to play, the result sees Saudi Arabia move to four points following their impressive defeat of Japan on Matchday One, with Qatar – in the wake of their draw with Syria – two points adrift of their regional rivals.

Saudi Arabia complete their group stage fixtures on Wednesday when they face Syria, while Qatar will tackle Japan on the same day.

Dali raced half the length of the field before slotting past Japanese goalkeeper Keisuke Saito to leave the Japanese rooted to the bottom of Group B without a point from their first two games and with no way to progress beyond the opening phase of the competition.

Captain Islom Kobilov scored one penalty kick and had another saved, before Nurillo Tukhtasinov came off the bench seal an important win for Ljubinko Drulovic’s side with 10 minutes remaining.

China PR’s second defeat in succession means they can no longer advance to the knockout stage, while Uzbekistan’s relatively handsome tally of four points from two matches means they require only a draw from their final group stage match against already qualified Korea Republic to advance.

First half goals from Lee Dong-jun and Cho Gue-sung gave Kim Hak-bum’s side a two-goal half-time buffer, but Reza Shekari’s effort nine minutes after the interval meant the Koreans had to negotiate a difficult period in order to extend their winning start to the competition.

Their perfect tally of six points from two matches means they are sure to advance to the knockout stage no matter what happens in Wednesday’s match against Uzbekistan, while Iran’s hopes of ending a 44-year Olympic qualification drought now weighs heavily on their final group stage fixture against China PR.

Park Hang-seo’s men spurned several chances against UAE with Quang Hai coming close on a number of occasions while Nguyen Tien Linh was denied by goalkeeper Mohammed Al Shamsi at the very end.

The result left Vietnam third in the standings with Jordan, who the Southeast Asians must now beat on Monday to boost their chances of advancing to the knockout stage, leading the group after opening with a 2-1 win over DPR Korea.

Goalkeeper Kang Ju-hyok kept DPR Korea in the game before Jordan took the lead with Bani Atieh converting from the penalty spot just before the break.

The West Asians extended their lead in the 74th minute with substitute Omar Hani heading home Bani Atieh's cross and then weathered a late fightback from the Koreans to seal the win to top Group D.