As the kick-off date for the historic 2021 edition approaches, the-AFC.com looks back at the 2020 tournament which turned out to be a thrilling affair despite the challenging circumstances.

We kicked off the series in style with fans voting Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara as the winner of the Best Headers of 2020, Ramin Rezaeian of Al Duhail topped the Best Free-kicks, Al Nassr's Abdulrahman Al Obaid won the Best Long-Range Goals, Abderrazak Hamdallah's strike against Qatar's Al Saad on Matchday One was voted as the winner of the Best Team Goals while Persepolis' Qara topped the Best Last Minute Goals.

Our next instalment looks at some game-defining saves and invites you, the fan, to tell us which was your favourite.

Football lovers from every corner of Asia have selected a goalkeeper, three defenders and a four-man midfield in previous weeks, now it’s time to crown the tournament’s greatest ever forwards, with countless worthy contenders to choose from.

With a staggering 344 AFC Cup goals between them, we’ve selected the cream of the crop, including players hailing from Europe, Africa and South America, in our star-studded shortlist, now it’s up to you decide the final make-up of our ultimate team. Study our nominees below, and don’t forget to register your vote at the bottom of the page.

The decision to bring the matches forward was taken to accommodate additional rest and travelling time for players in view of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, which are scheduled to take place in centralised venues from May 31 to June 15, 2021.

All other conditions related to the 2021 AFC Cup (West) remain unaffected with Group A to be hosted in Bahrain while Groups B and C will be played in Jordan.

Click HERE to view the revised fixtures.

Back then, Yaser Hamed was just 17 and a graduate of Athletic Bilbao’s renowned youth academy. The bourgeoning defender enjoyed spells in the youth teams of several clubs in Spain’s lower divisions, before signing his first professional contract in 2016.

After their maiden appearance at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Palestine returned for the subsequent edition in 2019, and it was later that year when Hamed made his national team debut. Since then, the centre-back has become one of the pillars of the team and has been ever present in his side’s first five qualifying fixtures for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.

The D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad’s TransStadia and the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar have been selected as the three stadiums and host cities that will provide the ultimate backdrop for some of the finest players in Asian and world women’s football from January 20 to February 6, 2022.

Join the-AFC.com as we give you a preview of the stadiums that will host Asia's finest women national teams on January 20 to February 6, 2022.

Hwang Ui-jo continued his superb form in front of goal in France, Awer Mabil delivered a three-assist masterclass in Denmark, and a trio of Japanese midfielders – Daichi Kamada, Junya Ito and Yui Hasegawa – starred all over Europe.

Throw in AFC International Player of the week returns for Musa Al Taamari, Nikita Rukavytsya and Aias Aosman, and there are plenty of fine contenders to choose from, so study our nominees, based on Performances from March 17 to 23, and don’t forget to cast your vote.