Japan got their Asian Cup campaign back on track by advancing to the knockout stage with a 3-1 win against Indonesia on Wednesday.

The pre-tournament favourites surprisingly lost to Iraq in their second Group D match last week to leave their hopes of winning a record-extending fifth Asian Cup title in jeopardy.

But any concerns over facing an early exit were swept away at Al Thumama Stadium after two goals from Ayase Ueda put the four-time champions on course for victory.

Justin Hubner scored a late own goal and Sandy Walsh pulled one back for Indonesia in added time.

It took Ueda just six minutes to settle any nerves Japan's players and fans might have been feeling going into their final group game.

The Feyenoord striker had won the spot kick after being fouled by Jordi Amat and fired his shot into the corner beyond Indonesia goalkeeper Ernando Ari Sutaryadi to open the scoring.

He doubled Japan's lead in the 52nd minute and when Hubner diverted another effort from Ueda into his own goal in the 88th the win looked beyond doubt.

Walsh scored a consolation in added time and Indonesia, on three points, will have to wait to see if they advance as one of the best third-placed teams.

While Japan safely secured their progress, it was Iraq who advanced as group winners after substitute Aymen Hussein scored from the penalty spot in the 12th minute of stoppage time to beat 10-man Vietnam 3-2 in a thrilling clash.

Having already missed one penalty after coming on as a half-time substitute at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Hussein converted from the spot deep into stoppage time to maintain Iraq’s perfect record in Group D.

Hussein is the tournament's leading scorer with five goals and that record might have been even better had he not struck the post with his earlier penalty against Vietnam.

He still managed to have a key impact on the match with two goals as the 2007 champions came from behind to make it three wins out of three.

Vietnam had taken the lead through Bui Hoang Viet Anh in the 42nd minute, but Khuat Van Khang was sent off in first-half stoppage time for a second yellow card.

It took only two minutes of the second half for Rebin Solaka to even the score for Iraq and Hussein headed his team in front 17 minutes from time.

Hussein failed to score from the spot when firing against the post and that miss looked to be costly when substitute Nguyen Quang Hai levelled the game in the 91st minute.

That was until Hussein was given the chance to make amends for his earlier penalty, and he made no mistake from the spot on this occasion.

Despite going ahead after an early strike by Son Heung-min, South Korea needed a last-minute own goal to salvage a 2-2 draw with Jordan at the Asian Cup.

Yazan Al-Arab's late intervention at the Al Thumama Stadium prevented a second surprise result in the space of 24 hours after Iraq had stunned tournament favourites Japan.

The draw leaves both South Korea, led by former United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and Jordan with four points from the first two games in Group E.

"It was a very, very intense game, which we expected," Klinsmann said. 

"After we got the lead, we were too slow. We were not physical enough. We lost one-on-one battles on the field, and that gave them a lot of energy."

Klinsmann, who won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany, was more satisfied with the second-half fightback.

He added: "We were in control. We created enough chances to win this game. Still, a tie is fine at the end of the day."

South Korea, two-time champions but searching for a first title since 1960, started well. After just five minutes, Son was fouled in the area by Ehsan Haddad. After a four-minute long VAR check, the Tottenham captain scored from the spot.

Jordan levelled after 37 minutes as Park Yong-woo headed a corner into his own net. Six minutes into first-half stoppage time, Jordan took the lead on Yazan Al-Naimat's goal.

But South Korea's pressure paid off in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. Son pulled the ball back in the area for Hwang In-beom and the low shot from the Red Star Belgrade midfielder was turned into his own goal by Al Arab.

Also in Group E, Bahrain beat Malaysia 1-0 to go third with three points. Ali Madan scored the only goal of the game in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to leave Malaysia pointless.

The top two from each of the six groups advance to the round of 16, where they are joined by the four best-performing third-place teams.

The entertaining Saturday play came after two low-scoring affairs rounded out the action on Friday.

Indonesia moved level with Japan in the Group D standings after beating Vietnam 1-0.

The deadlock was broken after 42 minutes when Nguyen Thanh Binh pulled Rafael Struick's shirt in the area. Captain Asnawi Mangkualam fired home the penalty to give Indonesia a chance of a place in the knockout stage for the first time.

Vietnam, who have lost both of their games, were reduced to 10 men late in the game after Le Pham Thanh Long's second yellow card.

In Group C, Iran defeated Hong Kong 1-0 to secure a place in the round of 16. Mehdi Ghayedi scored with more than an hour left.

The win put three-time champions Iran on top, two points ahead of the United Arab Emirates. The teams meet on Tuesday.

Hong Kong stayed bottom with successive defeats and are a point behind their final group opponents Palestine.