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.

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.

It's no overstatement to stay that one of the standout games of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup was not the final, nor semi-final, but an action-packed quarter-final away from the big city lights of Sydney and Melbourne, but in the country's eighth largest city, the capital Canberra.

Never considered a football-hotbed - Canberra even now still lacks an A-League side - the Australian seat of government, for one night in January 2015, was turned into the centre of Asian football as Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq played out an instant classic in the tournament's last eight.

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.

The 55-year-old former Slovenia and Yugoslavia international, who had also previously managed Macedonia, United Arab Emirates and Slovenia, said there would be a transitioning period but he is committed in ensuring Iraq achieve success.

“I am happy and proud to be the new coach of Iraq but there is not going to be a quick solution,” said Katanec, who has replaced Basim Qasim.

“This is going to be a long process and it is going to take time to build the team at all levels. It is an exciting challenge, however, as there is a lot of talent in Iraq and if we can start moving in the right direction, then I am confident that we can have success.”

Bento, appointed after the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, is working with the Korea Republic squad for the first time as they prepare for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

"I was impressed with his training programme," Son said at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, north of Seoul. "Bento doesn't miss small things, and he gives orders in detail."

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.