Appearing as an invited team in the European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup, 2022 hosts Qatar will be playing in Group A and will face Luxembourg for the first time.

Reigning AFC Asian Cup champions Qatar will then play Azerbaijan on Saturday and Republic of Ireland on March 30.

The roads to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 are open once again but, in the ever-changing world of international football, how clearly will we recognise the teams we haven't seen in competitive action for well over a year?

Join the-AFC.com as we check in with the Mongolian side who stunned the rest of the continent with a dream start to the Asian Qualifiers in 2019, but now face the daunting challenge of successive away fixtures against Tajikistan and Japan after over 400 days without a match.

The roads to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 are open once again but, in the ever-changing world of international football, how clearly will we recognise the teams we haven't seen in competitive action for well over a year?

Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at each of the five returning sides, including their key changes and what to expect ahead of the Asian Qualifiers matches in the coming week.

As the kick-off date for the historic 2021 edition approaches, the-AFC.com looks back at the 2020 tournament which turned out to be a thrilling affair despite the challenging circumstances.

We kicked off the series in style with fans voting Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara as the winner of the Best Headers of 2020, Ramin Rezaeian of Al Duhail topped the Best Free-kicks, Al Nassr's Abdulrahman Al Obaid won the Best Long-Range Goals, Abderrazak Hamdallah's strike against Qatar's Al Saad on Matchday One was voted as the winner of the Best Team Goals while Persepolis' Qara topped the Best Last Minute Goals.

Our next instalment looks at some game-defining saves and invites you, the fan, to tell us which was your favourite.

The AFC Cup All-time XI is taking shape, with players from East to West earning the approval of football followers from across the continent, but who will be tasked with adding trickery, creativity and energy from wide positions?

We’ve picked out 12 superb options; some of them known for being prolific scorers, some for their work as providers, and others who are remembered for specific moments in the tournament – and It’s up to you to choose your favourite.

With 122 goals, seven winners’ medals and three MVP awards among the nominees, there is ample quality to choose from, so study our list of contenders and don’t forget to register your vote.

Next week: Strikers

The decision to award the hosting of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2022 to Uzbekistan, which will be held from June 1-19, was reached following a comprehensive assessment of the bidding proposals, which include meeting all the sporting, infrastructure and risk assessment requirements as well as the preparations already in place for the recently cancelled AFC U-19 Championship Uzbekistan 2020.

The tournament, which was won by Korea Republic when it was held in Thailand last year, will begin its Qualifiers later this year from October 23 – 31, 2021 in a centralised format with the venues to be decided and communicated in due course.

China PR will host Group A which comprises leaders Syria, Philippines, Maldives and Guam with Kuwait confirmed as the host for Group B which includes Australia, Jordan, Nepal and Chinese Taipei.