The 45-year-old former Liverpool striker parted ways with Australian club Brisbane Roar this year and is expected to quickly join up with his new players.

FPT Telecom’s deal includes all major AFC national team and club competitions, including but not limited to the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to Qatar, the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, the AFC U23 Asian Cup Finals 2022 and 2024, the AFC Champions League and the hugely popular AFC Cup from the 2021 season onwards.

FPT Telecom will provide extensive coverage of Vietnamese national team and club matches as well as all neutral matches through various offerings including their FPT TV (Truyền hình FPT) and FPT Play services.

There has been no football on the island republic since the current season was suspended on March 24 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although teams did begin training in small groups in June, with full training allowed from the beginning of September.

In this week’s edition of our in-depth women’s football series, GameChangers, we meet the Women’s Super League veteran and Irish international, who sought to encourage a love of football in her students in Thailand and, in the process, rediscovered her own.

In more ways than one, it was a whole new ball game.

Head coach Kim Hak-bum's side looked set for a famous win but were denied in the 89th minute by striker Lee Jeong-hyeop's equaliser.

Yoshida saw Ambroise Oyongo’s hook his goal-bound effort clear midway through the first half after a fumble by Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa in Japan’s first international outing in 10 months due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In a long-awaited first outing under new coach Dragan Skočić, Team Melli’s star attacking duo each found the back of the net – Azmoun with a 25-yard rocket just before half-time, Taremi with a second half penalty – before Eldor Shomurodov pulled a goal back for the hosts in the 53rd minute.

Uzbekistan will meet United Arab Emirates in another friendly in Dubai on Monday, while Iran will face Mali in Antalya, Turkey the following day.