Title-chasing Iran survived a first-minute penalty in a chaotic start to eventually dispatch Oman 2-0 and reach the Asian Cup quarter-finals.
Beanpole goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand saved from the spot before goals from Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Ashkan Dejagah in Abu Dhabi sent Iran through to face China.
Vietnam were the first to book their place in the last eight after they bundled out Jordan on penalties in Dubai before the Chinese joined them by squeaking past Thailand 2-1.
Beiranvand saved a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty at last year's World Cup and plunged to his right to brilliantly deny Oman captain Ahmed Al-Mahaijri, preventing Oman taking a shock lead moments into the game.
"To be honest, I thought of Cristiano for a fraction of a second before the kick," Beiranvand told AFP.
"I didn't want people to think that save in Russia was a fluke. But saving penalties is my job and my responsibility is to help the team."
- 'Hell of a job' -
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"Football is a hell of a job for players and coaches to be honest with you."
"They had a fantastic tournament and should not be ashamed to lose to a team like Iran."
"We're in the quarter-finals which is an important step -- now let's see."