Years back, the youngster, from a small village in the Lamjung District of Nepal, used to play football barefoot with neighbouring boys. The ball they played with was made of socks, but it didn’t stop her dreaming big. She wanted to become a teammate of then Nepal women’s stars Anu Lama and Jamuna Gurung.

Now Bhandari is an established member of the Nepali Chelis alongside her idols. Furthermore, she has eclipsed them in accomplishment terms. Bhandari, who turned 23 last month, is Nepal's all-time leading markswoman with 34 goals from 38 internationals.

Four decades after that historic World Cup participation, Kuwait are more determined than ever to revive those past glories.

The focal point of Iran’s qualification for France 98 has often been the climax against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the 2-2 draw that broke Australian hearts, when goals from Karim Bagheri and Khodadad Azizi earned the Iranians a 3-3 aggregate tie and a ticket for the FIFA World Cup on the away goals rule.

But a little less than three weeks earlier the former Costa Rica coach jumped aboard the Team Melli rollercoaster for a ride he and football fans around Asia would never forget.

The 65-year-old Ivanković took charge of Oman in January, replacing Dutchman Erwin Koeman who parted ways with the West Asian side in December.

When it comes to Australian success in the AFC Champions League, Adelaide United (finalists in 2008) and Western Sydney Wanderers (champions in 2014) are the two stand-outs and it is unsurprising that players from these two sides feature heavily in our candidates for greatest Aussie ACL legend.

However, it was in fact at a Korean side, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, where one man from Down Under arguably had the biggest impact of the lot. Review and remember this five-star selection and vote for your favourite in the poll at the foot of the article.

In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City FC needed penalties to navigate the second round of the Vietnamese Cup, but there were few problems for Hanoi FC with the defending champions breezing into the quarter-finals as football in the Southeast Asian country gathers momentum ahead of the V.League's resumption on Friday.

Elsewhere, there were vital wins for the Japanese contingent in Germany's Bundesliga and a goal for a famous Chinese name in Serbia, so join the-AFC.com as we review the latest from East Asia and ASEAN.

The four-time league champions paid tribute to the 28-year-old centre-back on their Twitter account for the time he spent with the team, having signed from Ulsan Hyundai in 2016.