Maher opened the scoring in her side’s 1-1 draw with Chinese champions Jiangsu Suning to write her name into the history books and the promising midfielder sees a future where many more players will have the chance to follow in her footsteps.

The Australian club opened the scoring through an early Grace Maher header, before Jiangsu failed to find a winning goal despite creating several chances following Tang Jiali’s near-immediate equaliser.

The result leaves Victory on one point from two matches in the FIFA-AFC Pilot Tournament, while Jiangsu were forced to settle for a second draw in three days after sharing the spoils with Nippon TV Beleza on Matchday One.

Ueki’s header opened the scoring just after half time, before Kobayashi sealed the win in the dying seconds, helping Masato Nagata’s side to leapfrog the tournament hosts and put themselves 90 minutes away from being Asia’s first ever women’s club champions.

With four points from two matches, Beleza’s win means they’ll be able to seal the inaugural club crown with a win over Australia’s Melbourne Victory on Saturday, while the tournament hosts, who are a point behind, could go into their match with Jiangsu Suning with the title already lost.

The WK League champions found the back of the net twice in each half, with Lee Sea-eun – who bagged two goals in as many minutes just before the hour mark – leading the scoring on a night where Kim Dam-bi and Thais Guedes also left their mark on the final tally.

The win means the Red Angels finish Matchday One on top of the table, while Melbourne Victory sit at the bottom as the only team not to collect a point on the opening day.

Jiangsu’s impressive Malawian striker Tabitha Chawinga wrote her name into the history books with the tournament’s first goal in the seventh minute, but Beleza were level just three minutes later thanks to Mjna Tanaka before a second half arm-wrestle.

The result keeps both sides in title contention with two further matches to play in the competition.

With a shot at a maiden Continental title at stake, the-AFC.com highlights five of the brightest talents to keep an eye on at the FIFA/AFC Pilot Tournament.

Having proven themselves on the domestic front, Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels, Nippon TV Beleza, Melbourne Victory and Jiangsu Suning Ladies Football Club will have the chance to claim the title of Asia’s best, with six high-quality matches over three Matchdays to determine the maiden champions at the FIFA/AFC Pilot Tournament.

With the countdown to the landmark event approaching its final days, the-AFC.com shines the spotlight on the four teams competing in Yongin.