The towering striker is the second international recruit for the Chennai-based club ahead of the 2021-22 season, joining Brazilian midfielder Rafael Crivellaro who has been with Chennaiyin since 2019.

Appearing in the final four at a global tournament for the first time, Tony Gustavsson’s side were undone by Fridolina Rolfo’s goal in the first minute of the second half, with Sweden to face Canada - who defeated the United States 1-0 in the other semi-final - in Friday’s gold medal match in Tokyo.

The Matildas’ defeat means their attention now turns to the battle for bronze, but they’ll need to defeat defending world champions the United States on Thursday if they are to become the first Australian team to win an Olympic medal.

The tournament hosts are looking to win their first Olympic medal in the men’s football tournament since claiming bronze in Mexico City in 1968, with the nation standing between the Japanese and a place in Saturday’s final the one that has largely shaped Kubo’s career.

Captain Maya Yoshida hit the decisive penalty to earn Japan a 4-2 shoot-out win over the OlyWhites after the two nations had shared a goalless 120 minutes in their quarter-final on Saturday.

Qatar were the guest team of this year’s Gold Cup and didn’t disappoint, scoring 12 goals in five matches. Ali was a big part of that with his quartet of goals.

In Korea Republic, Ulsan Hyundai dropped more points while victory for Gamba Osaka in Japan helped them rise towards the mid-table positions in the J1 League as their position suddenly looks much safer.

Elsewhere, there was domestic action in Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam and Macau, so join-the-AFC.com as we bring you up to date with the results from across East Asia and ASEAN.

The 73-year-old Advocaat, who replaces Srecko Katanec, returns to Asia for the third time as a national team head coach after previously managing United Arab Emirates in 2005 and Korea Republic in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals.