Iraq overpower Australia (Iraq 3 Australia 1)
A shock defeat left Australia on the brink of elimination from the Asian Cup. Iraq went ahead in the 23rd minute through Akram when a free kick from the left deceived the Australian defence and Mark Schwarzer to find the back of the net. Mark Viduka levelled the game with a header at the start of the second half, but Mohammed slotted the ball past Schwarzer on the hour-mark and with 4 minutes remaining Karrar Jassim netted the 3rd for Iraq with a tap-in. Lucas Neill was sent off for persistent dissent in the closing stages of the match.

Group B matches
in Vietnam

Quintana does it again (Vietnam 1 Qatar 1)
Vietnam were denied victory by another late Quintana goal. A howler by the Qatari keeper saw Phan Thanh Binh's long-range shot trickle over the line in the 32nd minute, but with 11 minutes left Sebastian Quintana forced in a deflected shot with a header to give Qatar another point in this tournament.

Takahara buries UAE (Japan 3 UAE 1)
A Takahara double condemned the UAE to their second defeat in the Asian Cup. Takahara flung himself to head the ball into the net midway through the first half and double his tally in the 27th minute with a confident strike from just inside the area. With 5 minutes of the first half remaining Japan were awarded a penalty from which Nakamura fired the ball into the roof of the net. The UAE pulled a goal back in the 66th minute with a strike from Saeed Alkas, but it was not enough to keep the UAE in the tournament.

Group C matches
in Malaysia

Uzbeks outclass Malaysia (Uzbekistan 5 Malaysia 0)
Malaysia suffered another heavy defeat on their home ground. Maksim Shatskikh opened the scoring with an easy header in the 10th minute, and Kapadze ran through to beat Azizon with a powerful shot on the half-hour mark. Azizon brought Bakaev down in first-half stoppage time and was beaten by him from the spot. Uzbekistan sealed matters in the 85th minute when Solomin crossed the ball to an unmarked Ibragimov who side-footed a volley past the keeper. Uzbekistan added to Malaysia's misery when Shatskikh fired home the 5th after some neat exchange of passes in the 89th minute.

Iran fight back (Iran 2 China 2)
A spirited second-half performance earned Iran a point against China. The Chinese took the lead after only 6 minutes with a long-range free-kick from Shao Jiayi and doubled the score when the unmarked Zheng Zhi put the ball past Roudbarian in the 33rd minute, but a brilliant strike from Fereydoon Zandi gave Iran hope on the stroke of half time. Iranian pressure paid off in the second half when Nekounam scored with a towering header in the 74th minute.

Group D matches
in Indonesia

Late horror show for Indonesia (Indonesia 1 Saudi Arabia 2)
A goal deep into stoppage time stunned the home crowd and gave Saudi Arabia victory. Saudi Arabia took the lead in the 12th minute when Yasser Al Qahtani scored with a perfect header. Elie Aiboy rounded the Saudi keeper 8 minutes later and walked the ball into the net to send the home crowd into delirium, but their joy turned to despair when Saad Al Harthi headed in the winner for Saudi Arabia just before the final whistle.

Bahrain revival shocks Korea (Bahrain 2 South Korea 1 )
Bahrain kept their hopes alive with a shock win over South Korea. The Koreans looked on course for an easy win when Kim Do Heon turned the ball into the net with a left-footed volley after only 4 minutes, but Bahrain were equal just before the break when Salman Issa got behind the Korean defence and beat the keeper at the near post. Korea failed to live up to their name and were punished when Abdullatif struck the winner for Bahrain in the 85th minute.