It was Syria's second consecutive friendly defeat, having lost 3-1 to Bahrain last Thursday.

Both Iran and Syria used the friendly as preparation for the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, with the second round set to conclude in June.

After a dominant start to the game, Saudi Arabia got their first chance of the game after 13 minutes as Saleh Al Shehri exchanged passes with Fahad Al Muwallad and fired an effort from the edge of the area that sailed high and wide off the Palestinian goal.

Palestine came closest to opening the scoring 10 minutes before the break as Mahmoud Abu Warda tested goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais with a curled cross-cum-shot from the right wing which deceived the Saudi goalkeeper allowing Saleh Chihadeh to strike on the rebound, but Al Owais was able to recover and save the second ball.

The win ensures the Japanese maintain their perfect record after five games in Group F and will book their place in the third phase of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 qualifying if they defeat Myanmar when the two teams meet in Japan on June 3.

Bahrain defeated Syria 3-1 last Thursday, while Jordan shared a goalless draw with Oman on March 20 before defeating Lebanon 1-0 last Wednesday.

Tuesday's match was part of both teams preparations for the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, with the second round set to conclude in June.

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.

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, Persepolis' Qara topped the Best Last Minute Goals while his teammate Hamed Lak won the Best Saves.

Our next instalment looks at the goals scored by clinical finishes and invites you, the fan, to tell us which was your favourite.

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.