Debutant Rane’s 25th minute goal sealed Bengaluru a 1-0 win over Club Eagles of Maldives in their South Zone playoff at the National Stadium in Male, Maldives on Sunday as the 2016 AFC Cup runners-up advanced to Group D of this year’s competition.

The Maldivian capital Male will stage the group, which sees teams from the hosts, India and Bangladesh face off, with the South Zone winners progressing to the Inter-Zone semi-final and meeting with either FC Nasaf of Uzbekistan or FC Ahal of Turkmenistan from the Central Zone.

As kick-off approaches, join the-AFC.com as we run the rule over the participating sides.

Pezzaiuoli’s Bengaluru defeated Maldives' Club Eagles 1-0 in the South Zone playoff on Sunday to book their place in Group D alongside ATK Mohun Bagan, Bashundhara Kings of Bangladesh and Maldives’ Maziya Sports & Recreation.

This will mark the teams’ first encounter in the tournament, after having initially been slated to compete in last year’s AFC Cup before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stars from Japan, Korea Republic, Islamic Republic of Iran and Australia are all featured in the first edition of the new season of our weekly look at Asia’s best performers outside the continent, with our 10 nominees combining for nine goals between them.

Study our list of contenders – based on matches from August 11 to 17 – and don’t forget to cast your vote.

Among the 16 contenders are Japan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, the Asian teams fighting to end the best part of two decades of European and South American domination of the beach’s biggest prize.

So, as Moscow swaps Red Square for white sand, join the-AFC.com as we tell you all you need to know about the continent’s three contenders, their tournament pedigree and how they’ve prepared for the Beach Soccer’s post-pandemic party.

Last week we presented the candidates for the 2021 Group Stage's best goalkeeper, and now we shine the spotlight on the players who will make up the backline.

So, here are the 12 players in contention for the four places in defence. Review the nominees and then choose your favourite defenders for this all-star XI in the respective polls.