The first competition of its kind, the West Asian tournament will feature representatives from hosts Jordan as well as Palestine, Bahrain, Lebanon and United Arab Emirates, with the winners to claim the title of regional champions.

The competition will be staged on a round-robin basis, with fixtures held every other day, culminating in a decisive final Matchday next Friday.

The Matildas goal machine and 2017 AFC Women’s Player of the Year found the back of the net twice in Chicago Red Stars’ 3-1 win over Washington Spirit, taking her season tally to 18; one more than the previous record she set in 2017.

Kerr’s 18 goals have come in just 20 appearances, and despite her missing a month of league football due to Australia’s participation in FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, where she scored five goals in four matches.

Key stars like Saki Kumagai, Mana Iwabuchi and Yui Hasegawa were named alongside a number of younger players as the Nadeshiko gather for the first time since their Round of 16 elimination at the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019.

Four Asian teams, including host Japan, will compete in the men’s football tournament, while Asako Takakura’s Asian champions will be one of three to take part in the women’s competition, making the battle to represent the Continent one with little margin for error.

Both competitions have already seen dramatic qualifying action in Asia. The Road to Tokyo’s women’s football tournament began in Asia on November 4, 2018, while the first men’s qualifiers got underway on March 22, 2019, with final tournaments to be staged in early 2020 to determine the Continent's representatives.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino had already said that he was determined to push ahead with plans to expand the FIFA Women's World Cup in time for the next tournament after hailing France 2019 as "the best ever".

"The astounding success of this year's World Cup made it very clear that this is the time to keep the momentum going and take concrete steps to foster the growth of women's football," said Infantino, who has succeeded in expanding the men's tournament from 32 teams to 48 in time for the 2026 finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

"I am glad to see this proposal - the first of several - becoming a reality."

Rapinoe stroked home from 12 yards to put the USA ahead just after the hour mark and end the tournament as joint top scorer on six goals.

There was an air of inevitability about the 34-year-old, the star of this World Cup on and off the field, putting the USA ahead, and it also seemed inevitable that the breakthrough goal should come from a VAR-awarded penalty.

The whippet-like Lavelle, another stand-out performer over the last month, got the second in the 69th minute, killing off Dutch hopes of a comeback.

With three out of five representatives reaching the knockout stage, it was a tournament of much promise, but three losses in four days to European opposition meant that, for the first time in history, the quarter-final draw is without an Asian side.

As the dust settles on the Continent’s campaign at France 2019, the-AFC.com reviews the campaigns of each of the five participants.