Despite his young age, Musa Al Taamari's pace, skill and goals have lit up the 2018 AFC Cup as he drove Al Jazeera into their first ever Zonal Final where they face reigning champions Air Force Club later this month. His impressive displays have been rewarded with a transfer to 27-time Cypriot champions APOEL, perennial contenders in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

As he takes on the challenge of moving to a new continent, one of Asia's brightest young talents will also be hoping to inspire Jordan to success in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in a few months' time. Al Taamari spoke to the-AFC.com about his AFC Cup memories and ambitions for the future.

The 3-1 aggregate win heals the wounds from their loss to Ceres at the same point of the competition in 2017, and sets up an intriguing clash against DPR Korea side 4.25 SC in the Inter-Zone semi-finals.

Locked at 1-1 from the first leg last week, second half goals from Shakir Hamzah and Song Ui-young sealed the 3-1 aggregate win for the Singaporean side, earning them a spot in the Inter-Zone Semi-finals where they will face DPR Korea powerhouse 4.25 SC.

It was the visitors, who needed to win to defend their ASEAN Zonal title, who started the brighter of the two teams with Carli de Murga heading just wide from Stephan Schrock’s free-kick in the fourth minute.

Schrock attempted to turn provider again just over five minutes later with a cute outside-of-the-foot cross for Patrick Reichelt, but the winger saw his effort well saved by Home United custodian Rudy Khairullah.

Ceres’ Spanish defender Súper came agonisingly close to opening the scoring midway through the first half, but saw his diving header smash off the crossbar as the visitors pushed hard to find the opening goal they needed.

There was another smash late in the half when Reichelt and Rudy collided when challenging for the ball in the box, a collision that saw the Ceres winger stretchered from the field and play stopped for a lengthy period.

From debutants to former champions, 24 Asian nations are gearing for the AFC Asian Cup, and many of them are keeping an eye on how their stars are performing across Asia's two club competitions. Here are six players who have driven their teams into the final stages of the AFC Cup and dream of doing the same with their countries in January.

Seven remaining teams vie for the 2018 AFC Cup title as the action returns after the summer break, and from DPR Korea to Iraq to the Philippines and Turkmenistan, players have put their talent on display as they aim for personal and team glory. Here are four names who have shone brightly this term and will hope to continue impressing as their sides pursue continental glory.

In five months of fixtures since the start of the 2018 AFC Cup group stage, 116 games have been played, 370 goals have been scored, and seven teams remain standing. With the tournament set to resume on August 1 with the ASEAN Zonal Final first leg, we look back at the 2018 edition so far.

After two preliminary rounds and a play-off round, the group stage of the 2018 AFC Cup got underway in mid-February and in the West, there were two teams in particular who shone.

Jordan’s biggest rivalry today is the famous Amman derby between Al Faisaly and Al Wehdat, but long before Al Wehdat had become a dominant force in Jordanian football, there was the duopoly of Al Faisaly and Al Ahli. Al Jazeera were the first side to break that duopoly when they lifted their maiden Jordan League title in 1952, just five years into their existence.

Back-to-back league triumphs followed in 1955 and 1956, as Al Jazeera replaced Al Faisaly as Al Ahli’s main rivals and the country’s second most successful club with the league now expanding to six teams.