Japan and Korea Republic will go head-to-head in the semi-finals while Australia and Uzbekistan will also meet on Tuesday as the tournament approaches its climax at Khalifa Stadium on Saturday evening.

“This tournament has provided so many teams with such a good standard,” said Bin Hammam.

“At least 10 teams are a very good standard. Uzbekistan was not a surprise but they have produced a very good standard and we have Japan, Korea Republic and Australia, some of the best teams in Asia and they represented us at the World Cup.

“But Qatar played very well, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Syria. There are a lot of countries that played well.”

Iran’s elimination at the hands of Korea Republic in the last of the quarterfinals on Saturday evening saw the final team from West Asia exit the competition after Qatar, Iraq and Jordan were all beaten in the last eight.

As a result, the make up of the semi-finals reflects the current on-field dominance of the eastern half of the continent.

“I think it’s a good achievement for East Asia but I remain president of all of Asia. East and west for me are equal,” said Bin Hammam.

“A lot of west Asian teams provided very good football but at the end of the day we have to accept that football, and sport in general, is about winning and losing and we have to accept that in a sporting spirit.

“For me, whoever plays in the final are the teams that are representing me.”

Bin Hammam also complimented Qatar’s hosting of the tournament, which was organised just over a month after the nation was awarded the hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“It’s been an extremely well organised event by Qatar,” said Bin Hammam. “Although it is 12 years between now and 2022, it was a very good rehearsal for that competition.”