Kim will be joined by three other female match commissioners in the Asian Qualifiers - Nguyen Thanh Ha of Vietnam, Lau Cheuk Chi of Hong Kong and AFC Executive Committee member Kanya Keomany of Laos – who were confirmed by FIFA after being nominated by the AFC.

The appointment of the female match commissioners for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Joint Qualifiers underlines the AFC’s steadfast commitment to promote women in Asian football.

Unbeaten in the group stage, an Iraq side comprised primarily of youngsters and players from the Iraqi Premier League will go into Wednesday’s final against Bahrain as favourites.

But despite having the opportunity to win silverware, Katanec says his to-do list for the competition – which several teams have used as preparation for next month’s Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 – has already been ticked off.

Iraq’s win sets up a meeting with Group B winners Bahrain in Wednesday’s decider, where the Lions of Mesopotamia will target their first WAFF title since 2002.

That words of wisdom rings true for China PR midfielder Wu Xi, who has recently hit the headlines due to his solid performances.

The dynamic midfielder, who turned 30 in February, has been on top of his game for both club and country. Wu has excelled so far in his captaincy role with Jiangsu Suning, as his club are maintaining their place among the top six in the Chinese Super League.

While at international level, he was instrumental throughout China’s AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 campaign where they were ultimately knocked out at the quarter-final stage.

The training squad is spearheaded by India's record goal-scorer Sunil Chhetri, who is expected to wear the captain's armband when India play their opening Group E tie against Oman on September 5.

Also in the group are Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Qatar.

Having gone closer than ever to reaching the 2018 FIFA World Cup Finals in Russia, Syria have cause to be optimistic about reaching Qatar, despite a largely disappointing run of results in 2019.

While star Saudi-based attacking duo Omar Al Soma and Omar Khribin were instrumental in the previous campaign, Ibrahim is using the 2019 WAFF Championship to give a number of fringe and home-based players the chance to press their case for selection.

Romeo Jozak’s side made what most would consider a dream start to life in Erbil, recovering from the concession of an early Rabee Sufyani goal to beat a youthful Saudi side, with Faisal Ajab emerging as the matchwinner.

The win was Kuwait’s first against a national team in 2019, and first outside of their homeland since 2015 after they spent nearly two years out of the international game.