In a special video message to participants, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary, Dato’ Windsor John, said: “The last time the People’s Republic of China hosted the AFC Asian Cup in 2004, it was staged in just four cities. At the time, Asia’s top 16 teams competed in 32 matches, which is a stark difference to the 24 teams who will be competing across 51 matches in 2023.

After the 2020 edition was cancelled due to COVID-19, the-AFC.com launches an AFC Cup Bracket Challenge that features 32 of the greatest goals from the previous decade and ask you, the fans, to vote for your favourities.

Khalilzadeh got the Islamic Republic of Iran champions on the road to a victory they needed to advance to the Round of 16 with his header as Persepolis scored a 4-0 win in their Matchday Six tie.

Check out all the nominees and the poll result at the bottom of the article.

In their first match together since Matchday Six of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 last November, the Samurai Blue were held to a goalless draw by Cameroon on Friday and midfielder Gaku Shibasaki said Japan will have to improve against Côte d'Ivoire.

The Championship and Relegation Rounds in Vietnam got underway with the V.League's top four teams all recording wins while Johor Darul Ta'zim ensured they finished the Malaysia Super League unbeaten following a big victory in the final round of fixtures of a shortened season.

In Cambodia, title chasers Boueng Ket and Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng claimed wins in the penultimate games of the season while Lao Toyota brought a satisfying campaign to a close in Laos, so join the-AFC.com as we bring you up to speed with the action from ASEAN.

The international break meant there were no fixtures in the top flights in Korea Republic and China PR, but there was a full set of matches in Japan and Chinese Taipei so join the-AFC.com as we wrap up the best of the domestic action from across East Asia.

Tell us who impressed you the most in the latest round of fixtures by casting your vote at the bottom of the article.

The 29-year-old JDT and Singapore skipper will be undertaking his new role as a PSB Academy Ambassador and student of Coventry University’s Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Business and Marketing.

Flexible lesson arrangements will allow Harun to juggle his time between football and studies.