From debutants to former champions, 24 Asian nations are gearing for the AFC Asian Cup, and many of them are keeping an eye on how their stars are performing across Asia's two club competitions. Here are six players who have driven their teams into the final stages of the AFC Cup and dream of doing the same with their countries in January.

After a bright opening by Ceres, Patrick Reichelt played in striker Powell, who was handed a penalty in the ninth minute after being taken down in the box by Shakir Hamzah.

The Australian made no mistake from the spot as he slotted the ball past Home United goalkeeper Rudy Khairullah to give the home side an early lead and send the Panaad Stadium crowd into raptures.

But just as Mike Ott went close to doubling Ceres’ lead shortly after, Home United‘s immediate counter attack led to the equaliser and a crucial away goal on 23 minutes.

Izzdin Shafiq’s in-swinging corner found Shahril Ishak, who managed to escape his marker at the near post to head over Toni Doblas with the ball rebounding off the woodwork, with Cernak the fastest to react as he headed in to level proceedings.

The end-to-end nature of the first half continued right up until the whistle when Manuel Ott’s indirect free-kick in the first minute of stoppage time sailed over Khairullah in goal as both sides remained deadlocked going into the break.

Seven remaining teams vie for the 2018 AFC Cup title as the action returns after the summer break, and from DPR Korea to Iraq to the Philippines and Turkmenistan, players have put their talent on display as they aim for personal and team glory. Here are four names who have shone brightly this term and will hope to continue impressing as their sides pursue continental glory.

Bengaluru, who face Turkmenistan's Altyn Asyr in the 2018 AFC Cup Inter-Zone semi-finals, have signed Kean Lewis, Rino Anto, Sairuat Kima, Gursimrat Gill, Soram Poirei, Chencho Gyeltshen and Xisco Hernandez for the 2018-19 season.

The first leg of the AFC Cup Inter-Zone semi-final on August 22 will be Bengaluru's first competitive match and Cuadrat is determined to prepare his squad for what promises to be a challenging assignment.

When the 2018 AFC Cup's ASEAN Zonal Final kicks off between Ceres Negros and Home United on August 1, it will be another chapter in what has become a series of intriguing clashes between familiar foes.

In fact, it will be the fifth time the two sides have faced each other in the continental competition since they first clashed almost exactly a year ago in the AFC Cup's inaugural Southeast Asian decider.

In five months of fixtures since the start of the 2018 AFC Cup group stage, 116 games have been played, 370 goals have been scored, and seven teams remain standing. With the tournament set to resume on August 1 with the ASEAN Zonal Final first leg, we look back at the 2018 edition so far.

After two preliminary rounds and a play-off round, the group stage of the 2018 AFC Cup got underway in mid-February and in the West, there were two teams in particular who shone.

Jordan’s biggest rivalry today is the famous Amman derby between Al Faisaly and Al Wehdat, but long before Al Wehdat had become a dominant force in Jordanian football, there was the duopoly of Al Faisaly and Al Ahli. Al Jazeera were the first side to break that duopoly when they lifted their maiden Jordan League title in 1952, just five years into their existence.

Back-to-back league triumphs followed in 1955 and 1956, as Al Jazeera replaced Al Faisaly as Al Ahli’s main rivals and the country’s second most successful club with the league now expanding to six teams.