The midfielder skippered the Central Asians as they advanced from a qualifying group that featured Iraq, Turkmenistan and Yemen after finishing as one of the best-placed runners up in March to book their ticket to the Continental competition, which also acts as the Olympic Games qualifiers.

Four years ago in Qatar, when Olympic qualification was also on the line, Iran progressed to the quarter-finals before defeat at the hands of Japan. After missing out on the U-23 showpiece in 2018, they return looking to go at least one better this time round a give themselves a chance of appearing at Tokyo 2020.

Prior to August 7, 2019, the Guinea-born teenager had not even begun his professional career let alone been on the brink of representing Australia at one of the biggest national team tournaments in Asia. But in a dream second half of the year, Toure has gone on to make headlines across the globe.

Just 12 minutes into Adelaide United's FFA Cup campaign, in his senior debut, Toure scored. And the goals kept coming, five in total including the opener in a 4-0 win over Melbourne City in the final, earning him the Mark Viduka Medal for player of the match.

The three previous editions of the tournament have featured names who have developed into key performers for club and country, earned moves to bigger leagues and become household names across Asia and beyond.

Ahead of what is sure to be another excellent U-23 competition, the-AFC.com has picked out seven players who have graced the tournament and gone on to develop into modern-day superstars of Asian football.

With 16 teams fighting it out for the right to be crowned Continental champions and book their tickets to South America it did not disappoint as fans in Doha were treated to a football extravaganza.

Fabulous goals, future household names and drama to the last, the-AFC.com looks back at one of the most memorable tournaments of recent years.

Featuring some of Asia's finest modern-day talent, including the 2018 AFC Player of the Year Abdelkarim Hassan, Japan's Shoya Nakajima and Vietnam's Nguyen Quang Hai, our selection offers the perfect way to whet your appetite ahead of the fourth edition of the tournament early next year.

After viewing the goals, tell us which is your favourite by casting your vote at the bottom of the article, before it ends on December 22, 14:30 hours (UTC +8).

Holders Uzbekistan will be looking to repeat their feat from China two years ago while Japan are aiming to return to the form that saw them lift the AFC U23 Championship trophy in Qatar in 2016.

But, after initially being scheduled to take place in mid-2013, the inaugural edition of one of the newest competition’s in the AFC calendar came in 2014 when – as the then AFC U-22 Championship – Iraq conquered all before them in a tournament that saw a number of Asia’s modern-day stars play key roles.

Bughammar was one of several U-23 players that were part of the senior squad at the 24th Gulf Cup as Bahrain clinched their first-ever title with a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in last Sunday’s final, having also won the WAFF (West Asian Football Federation) Championship earlier in the year.

Now, after winning all three of their qualifying games earlier in 2019 to advance to a maiden AFC U23 Championship, Bahrain can look forward to one of the most important competitions on the AFC’s calendar in which qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is also on offer for the top three sides.