Saudi Arabia’s return to the global stage was an eagerly anticipated one after 12 years away from the lights. An opening day date with the hosts Russia only added to the excitement about the Green Falcons’ campaign.

Three matches and three points later, Saudi could not replicate their 1994 achievement of reaching the second round, but there were plenty of positives to ponder as they prepare for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in neighbouring UAE.

Our five-man panel had shared their pre-tournament thoughts on their countries’ chances and how they saw things potentially playing out. Now they reflect on those performances and look ahead to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

The Panel members are Sebastian Hasset from Australia, Pejman Rahbar from IR Iran, Etsuko Motokawa from Japan, Seo Ho-jung from Korea Republic and Atef Nahass from Saudi Arabia.

Qatar will take on China in the first friendly game on September 7 at Khalifa International Stadium, followed by a friendly against Palestine on September 17. The third game will be played against Ecuador on October 2.

Currently, Qatar are undergoing intensive training programme in Austria, and head coach Felix Sanchez believes the team has benefitted from the camp.

“The team atmosphere is very positive and an enjoyable one,” said Sanchez, and added: “Things are developing as planned. The players have responded well to my plans

“There are fitness drills and then there is football action in double training sessions. This is a great opportunity to build the right momentum moving forward.

Australia suffered defeats against France and Peru, and drew 1-1 with Peru, ending their Russia 2018 campaign at the bottom of Group C.

Replacing Bert van Marwijk immediately after the World Cup, Arnold anticipates a better performance now that he is at the helm for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup next January in the United Arab Emirates, revealing that he would first tackle the psychology of his players.

“A lot of it these days is about the mind and what the mind tells you,” said the former Sydney FC head coach.

“I think that’s the big improvement that you’ve seen in England. A lot of the top sides now use sports psychologists for the players; there’s a lot of negativity in social media around players and what they read. It can affect people.”

So, what better time than now to kick off a new season of the-AFC.com’s Asian Football Trivia segment - our weekly question-based series that allows you, the fans, to send us your questions on anything and everything related to Asian football?

Week one begins with three tricky in-house questions, and we invite you to follow suit and send us your queries via the AFC’s social media platforms in the coming days and weeks.

Some 4,500 people packed out the stadium's fan zone as it showed France beating Belgium 1-0 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-final in Russia, knowing that the clock is ticking for Qatar's World Cup in 2022.

Going into the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, Omar Abdulrahman was the UAE’s most recognisable face, and he boosted his reputation as one of Asia’s finest players with a string of top performances Down Under, but arguably the biggest winner from the team’s run to the semi-finals was the then 25-year-old Mabkhout.