A record of 168 caps and still counting for Shafi puts him just behind another Asian Icon, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al Deayea (178) and Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon (174) as the sport’s most capped goalkeepers of all-time.

Throughout an 18-year international career, Shafi was a centrepiece to every single major achievement for his nation and despite his advanced years, he remains an automatic first pick between the sticks for coach Vital Borkelmans and continues to grow in influence as Al Nashama's revered captain.

The 35-year-old Tagliabue, who has been playing in UAE since 2012, was recently granted citizenship and head coach Jorge Luis Pinto will be glad to use the services of the Al Nasr forward in the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

In a statement released on Sunday, the club confirmed the former Lokomotiv Moscow defender’s arrival, which comes just one week after he departed Kyrgyz Premier League newcomers FC Kaganat due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic is also a factor in his return to the Tajik football scene. Lazarević has remained in Serbia since the league resumed last month, with Khujand assistant Rustam Khojaev taking the reins for the club’s league matches ever since.

As it turned out, however, Al-Abyad failed to make the 2018 Finals after placing fourth in their group in the final round of the Asian Qualifiers. Registering only four wins in their 10 matches, they failed to add to their solitary FIFA World Cup appearance, which came at Italy 1990.

Despite the disappointing outcome, the forward, now 29, at least made his mark in that qualifying campaign, finishing it as UAE’s second-highest scorer behind Ahmed Khalil with nine goals in total, four of them coming in that final round.

To select the candidates for each position, we have reflected on match data from the tournament to draw up a statistics-based approach to present the outstanding performers.

We begin with five candidates for the all-important number one shirt. Review the nominees and then choose your favourite goalkeeper to helm the rearguard for this all-star XI in the poll below.

Over the last two weeks, Asia’s football fans have come together to celebrate the continent’s outstanding FIFA World Cup goals

Tens of thousands of football lovers voted them in, now, which goal will emerge from the Final as Asia’s greatest? From an initial list of 20 semi-finalists, 10 special goals remain, and the choice is in your hands.

As we marvel at some of Asia’s all-time greats, and their unforgettable moments on the biggest stage of all, make sure to cast your vote.

We shine the '5 of the Best' spotlight on a handful of aesthetically pleasing curling efforts that have sailed beyond outstretched goalkeepers and into the back of the net. Once you've reviewed our trip down memory lane, don;t forget to vote for your favourite at the bottom of the article!

Also take a look at past editions that feature acrobatic goals, solo goals, volleys, long-range screamers, free-kicks and last-minute winners.