The hosts started brightly, but the African champions got into their rhythm after 10 minutes and began to dominate.

Their reward came on the half-hour, when Walter Bwalya pressured Bassam Hisham into a defensive mistake. The ball broke to Hussein Elshahat, who arrowed a low drive into the bottom corner from just outside the penalty area.

Frenchman Gignac, the Mexicans’ all-time leading scorer (146 goals in all competitions), turned the global showpiece's opening match on its head with an opportunistic brace – a tap-in and a penalty – late in the first half.

Two Asian teams will participate in this year's competition: Ulsan Hyundai FC as the 2020 AFC Champions League winners while Qatar champions Al Duhail SC will represent the host nation.

Ahead of the tournament opener between Tigres UANL and Ulsan Hyundai on Thursday, the-AFC.com remembers five of the best Asian performances in the history of the FIFA Club World Cup.

Don't forget to tell us which team produced Asia's most memorable performance in the FIFA Club World Cup in the poll below.

The top clubs from five of football’s six continental confederations will join host nation representatives Al Duhail SC in determining who will be crowned the world’s best. Auckland City FC, who were nominated to represent the Oceania region at the tournament, withdrew from the competition because of COVID-19 quarantine measures required by authorities in New Zealand.

The tournament will also showcase two FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadiums: Ahmad Bin Ali and Education City. We take look at the six clubs seeking to win the prestigious title.

This week’s list of contenders features players from six different AFC nations, all of whom have excelled for clubs outside of the continent over the last week.

Study the shortlist, based on performances from January 28 to February 3, and don’t forget to register your vote.

The opening matches are still more than two months away, but that won’t stop us from breaking down Wednesday's draw and examining what to expect from a mouth-watering selection of groups in the West Zone.

Join the-AFC.com as we look at what to expect, what to ponder and what to watch from the matches ahead.

In lieu of waiting until April’s kick-off, we are jumping straight into this year’s extended field, analysing the contenders, the challengers and the storylines ahead in the East Zone of Asia’s premier club football competition.

Join the-AFC.com as we look at what to expect, what to ask and what to watch in the matches ahead.