Captain Issam Abu Toq and his strong team overcame the Yemen team on penalties in a highly-competitive encounter that produced some sublime football to win the coveted trophy and behind-the-scenes VIP access to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 final on February 1.

Four youngsters stepped up to showcase their musical ability on the beachside stage with the audience soaking up the chance to enjoy the magic of another culture against the backdrop of Asia’s biggest football tournament.

Sharing his insights, Dang Phuong Anh, one of the performing group’s members said: “I love playing music and doing it here in Abu Dhabi on the beach at this football fan zone is a great experience that me and my friends will never forget.”

Her music teacher Le Thanh Phuong added: “With football being played between 24 nations, we’re here to promote and teach people about Vietnamese culture. What better way to do that than through our music, which like football, is a great way to bring people together.”

Jemala Yagmurova, who lives in the UAE but is originally from Turkmenistan, recruited a fan club of over 100 people to support her nation, ensuring that there was plenty of noise and encouragement for her country emanating from the stands.

She is one of the six hundred strong community group, dubbed the ‘Playmakers’, which was formed to spread awareness and excitement of the tournament across the Emirates. For months now, Jemala and her fellow Playmakers have attended events, functions, mobile roadshows, schools outreach programmes and more, in a wide scale effort to drum up support for their own countries.

With the captivating action on the pitch, universities in the UAE have committed to the Continental showpiece by bringing diverse groups of students together, using the power of football to unite and engage, giving students an opportunity to attend matches.

Four dedicated University Days will be taking place across each host city, with hundreds of students kicking-off the programme in Abu Dhabi when they attended Thursday’s epic contest between Korea Republic and China PR, which saw the Taeguk Warriors seal a 2-0 victory at the Al Nahyan Stadium.

In the spotlight Wednesday were a group of traditional Lebanese Dabke dancers “Al Asail”, who performed on stage in traditional outfits, thrilling fans and curious observers with a highly energetic and flamboyant routine.

Explaining the history and background of the dance, Hosain Algengy said: “Dabke is the traditional Arab folk dance of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine that is usually performed at happy moments and joyous occasions in life so it’s great to be at the heart of the AFC Asian Cup fan zone, to showcase it.

But just who has been the best performer overall?

We want you to have your say, vote in our poll below to decide which of the following 10 players you think has been the best performer of the group stage.

In the 36 matches played in the group stages of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, we have seen 96 goals scored - 2.67 per match - and some of them truly memorable strikes. Here are our selected 10 for you to review and judge which is your best.