Midfielder Lee Jae-sung knocked home a rebound after Son Heung-min's penalty attempt rang off the post in the 35th minute at the Goyang Stadium, while fellow midfielder Nam Tae-hee scored his first international goal in nearly two years for second-half insurance.

Bento, the former Portugal boss that was named as Korea Republic's head coach on August 17, enjoyed a convincing victory over the world ranked No. 32 Costa Rica.

From now until September 30th, 2018, football fans can submit their slogan proposals for their favourite teams via the AFC’s social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, in the first phase of the contest, with the ultimate winners receiving an autographed national team jersey.

And the ultimate accolade will see the 24 winners have their slogans painted on the official team buses, which will be broadcast across the world and will ferry some of Asian football’s biggest names between the eight stadiums across the four cities, from January 5 to February 1, 2019.

While Korea Republic's Lee Seung-woo and Australia's Daniel Arzani are among the young Asian stars to make headlines in 2018, Palestine look to have unearthed a gem of their own in 19-year-old Oday Dabbagh.

The youngster, who plays club football for West Bank Premier League champions Hilal Al-Quds, rounded out an impressive overall performance with his first senior international goal in Thursday's 1-1 friendly draw with Kyrgyz Republic, putting his name firmly in the selection frame for January's Finals.

Mirlan Murzaev had the hosts in front in the blink of an eye, before a header from teenage striker Oday Dabbagh gave Palestine a deserved share of the spoils just before half time.

Many of the fans at Dolon Omarzukov Stadium were still finding their seats when the home side took the lead, as Kyrgyz Republic captain Murzaev punished opposite number Abdallatif Albahdari's stumble to easily beat Tawfiq Abuhammad in just the second minute.

It was a case of he came, he scored, he absconded for Murazev, whose evening ended after just six minutes, as Palestine quickly settled into the role of aggressors, taking the game to their Central Asian hosts.

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “Asian football continues to make giant strides on the world stage and the remarkable growth and stature of the AFC Asian Cup exemplifies the undeniable progress of football in the Continent. Emirates have been a long-standing partner of the AFC and we would like to thank them for their firm belief in the development and ever-improving proposition of Asian football.

“Through this partnership with Emirates Holidays, we are confident that we will engage with more families, more passionate fans of all ages, from across all the five AFC regions and beyond. Together with the LOC and Emirates Holidays, the AFC is committed to staging an AFC Asian Cup of world class standards – a true celebration of Bringing Asia Together.”

Through the partnership, Emirates Holidays will offer a broad range of excellent value packages to football fans traveling to Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah to support their teams. Each package has been designed for country specific football fans which includes match ticket(s), accommodation and return flights with Emirates Airline.

With just over four months to Asia’s most prestigious football tournament, 5,000 opportunities were launched across a number of exciting and critical roles, from liaising with team services and VIPs hospitality across the competition, to media work and venue operations.

The launch event for the volunteers’ programme was attended by LOC Director of Marketing and Communications, Ahmad Al Qobaisi, who was joined by Saeed Khalifah Al Muhairi, Abu Dhabi Sports Council Director of Technical Affairs, along with Mohammad Al Shatiri AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Volunteers Programme Manager, who were present among a crowd of football fans on Friday in Dubai Mall.

After a record-setting group stage performance by Asian teams at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the eyes of the football world now turn towards the UAE from January 5 – February 1, 2019.

The expanded competition, which is set to welcome an unprecedented 24 teams – eight more than the previous 2015 edition – will take place across eight world-class stadiums in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah, and promises to engage more fans than ever before in the biggest sporting event ever hosted in the region.