UAE striker Ali Mabkhout scored after 14 seconds in one of the fastest goals in Asian Cup history to propel his side towards a 2-1 win over Bahrain on Thursday.

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The Group C victory in Canberra marked the first time UAE had won their opening two matches at the tournament and put them on the verge of qualifying for the quarter-finals.

Omar Abdulrahman chipped a delightful ball over the top of Bahrain's defence and Mabkhout calmly controlled it with his right foot before slotting past goalkeeper Sayed Abbas with his left.

It was Mabkhout's third goal of the Asian Cup after a double in UAE's opening 4-1 win against Qatar Sunday, making him the tournament's top scorer.

Goals have been scored within a minute at the competition before, notably China's Xie Yuxin in 1992 and Kuwaiti Fat'hi Kameil in 1976, but Mabkhout's is one of the quickest on record.

UAE enjoyed more of the ball in the opening stages with midfield wizard Abdulrahman so often the instigator of UAE's attacking play.

But Bahrain gradually came into the match after the shock of conceding so early and always looked dangerous up front through Nigerian-born striker Jaycee Okwunwanne – nicknamed "Ronaldo".

UAE would rue that miss shortly afterwards when Okwunwanne got his reward for persistent badgering of the defence, scoring with a header at the back post from a corner on 26 minutes.

The start of the second half was less high-octane until Abdulrahman curled an indirect free-kick a fraction over on 61 minutes after Abbas picked up a back-pass.

UAE got their winner after 73 minutes when Bahrain captain Mohamed Hasan headed a free-kick into his own net.

Sardar Azmoun's brilliant solo goal earned Iran a 1-0 win over Qatar and a place in the Asian Cup quarter-finals alongside United Arab Emirates on Thursday.

Solid Qatari defending kept Iran at bay until shortly after half-time in Sydney when Azmoun's instinctive touch and shot ended their resistance and sent a partisan crowd wild.

Carlos Queiroz's Team Melli are now into the quarter-finals for the sixth time in a row and continue to look strong contenders to break their 39-year Asian Cup drought.

Iran looked to be running out of ideas until Azmoun lit up the Sydney evening and ignited the crowd with his fabulous touch and score on 52 minutes.

When former Fulham man Dejagah picked out Azmoun on the edge of the box, the 20-year-old still had much to do to evade the attentions of defender Abdelkarim Hassan. 

But in a moment of supreme quality, he dragged the ball between his legs and into space in the box, before sweeping it into the bottom right-hand corner.

In a late scare, Ali Asadalla Thaimn hit Iran's post with an injury-time header but the effort was offside and Queiroz sank to his knees in joy as the final whistle blew.