BANGKOK, Thailand, 17 July 2007 — Defending champions Japan trounced Vietnam 4-1 and Australia scored three late goals in a 4-0 win over Thailand yesterday to set up an earlier than expected heavyweight grudge match at the Asian Cup.

The Japanese topped Group B with two wins and a draw and with midfield general Shunsuke Nakamura hitting top form against co-host Vietnam.

Pre-tournament favorite Australia needed to beat Thailand to advance to the knockout stage on debut at the Asian Cup, and progressed in second place in Group A behind Iraq.

That means a quarterfinal against the two-time defending champions for the Socceroos at Hanoi, Vietnam on Saturday.

Apart from being the No. 1 and No. 3 ranked teams in Asia, the stakes will be heightened by Australia’s late three-goal burst to beat Japan in the group stage at last year’s World Cup.

Newcastle recruit Mark Viduka scored twice in three minutes and Liverpool winger Harry Kewell, sent on as a substitute on the hour, capped Australia’s win over Thailand with a powerful run and right-foot shot in the 90th minute. Everton midfielder Tim Cahill gave the last pass or cross in the last three goals and will be hoping to emulate his World Cup performance, when he scored the equalizer and the go-ahead goal that inspired Australia’s win over Japan.

In a match played simultaneously across Bangkok, Iraq reached the Asian Cup quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive tournament with a scoreless draw against Oman.

Younes Mahmoud and his Iraqi lineup went into yesterday’s match with Oman knowing a point would be enough to send them into the next stage.

Oman needed a win to progress, and while it pressed hard in the final minutes, could not find a way through a determined Iraq defense. Qualification was a rare beam of light for the Iraqi people, for whom the national team is one of the few institutions to bridge the sectarian divide. Iraq’s run to the semifinals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and to the final at the Asian Games last December sparked rare celebrations on home soil. Now there’s a semifinal appearance to chase. Iraq upset Australia 3-1 in its previous match and only needed to avoid a loss to ensure it went through to a quarterfinal against Vietnam. The Vietnamese sneaked into the knockout stage for the first time despite a 4-1 loss to Japan.

That left Vietnam hoping for a draw or a United Arab Emirates win over Qatar in the match being played simultaneously in Ho Chi Minh City, and substitute striker Faisal Khalil delivered with a header in injury time.

Asian Games champions Qatar went into its last match needing a win after two opening ties and went ahead on Sebastien Quintana’s penalty in the 42nd minute. But Saeed Al Kaas equalized for UAE at the 59th minute when he leaped above the defense to meet Ahmed Mubarak’s cross and headed home from close range. And Khalil capped it off with a close-range header.

It was like a home game for Bruno Metsu’s UAE lineup, with thousands of Vietnamese fans cheering every time the UAE was in possession and a giant UAE flag on display at the 20,000-seat Army stadium. The lowest-ranked team in the group, Vietnam took a shock early lead on a Japan own-goal in the 8th minute, but the champions reacted ruthlessly with two goals for Seiichiro Maki, one for Nakamura and another for Yashuhito Endo. Celtic midfielder Nakamura, the Scottish League’s player of the year, showed his class to set up Japan’s equalizer in the 12th minute when he twisted defender Nguyen Huy Hoang into a spin on the left side and floated a cross in for unmarked Maki.