It was Oman’s second consecutive draw, having settled for a 0-0 result with Jordan last Sunday, while India will meet United Arab Emirates on Monday.

The two sides were familiar foes, having already played twice in Group E of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, with Oman winning 2-1 and 1-0.

Goals from the star FC Istiklol duo of Manuchehr and Alisher Dzhalilov put Tajikistan within sight of victory, before substitute Shahrom Samiev put the result beyond doubt late on for Usmon Toshev’s side, who controlled the encounter from start to finish against a team ranked 70 places below them.

The result takes Tajikistan to second place in Group F, with their tally of 10 points from six matches leaving them two adrift of group leaders Japan, who hold two matches in hand, while Mongolia slumped to a fifth successive defeat in the section, with the debut of Ganbayar Ganbold one of their few highlights.

Miki Yamane scored on his debut to give Japan the lead in the 17th minute, before Daichi Kamada added a second 10 minutes later and Wataru Endo notched a late third.

The result gave the Samurai Blue a win in their first home game since November 2019, and a decent workout before they resume their Asian Qualifiers campaign for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 against Mongolia on Tuesday.

Qatar, preparing for the FIFA World Cup 2022, played Luxembourg as an invited team in Group A of the European Qualifiers. They will take on Azerbaijan on Saturday before meeting Republic of Ireland on Tuesday.

Hwang Ui-jo continued his superb form in front of goal in France, Awer Mabil delivered a three-assist masterclass in Denmark, and a trio of Japanese midfielders – Daichi Kamada, Junya Ito and Yui Hasegawa – starred all over Europe.

Throw in AFC International Player of the week returns for Musa Al Taamari, Nikita Rukavytsya and Aias Aosman, and there are plenty of fine contenders to choose from, so study our nominees, based on Performances from March 17 to 23, and don’t forget to cast your vote.

As the kick-off date for the historic 2021 edition approaches, the-AFC.com looks back at the 2020 tournament which turned out to be a thrilling affair despite the challenging circumstances.

We kicked off the series in style with fans voting Persepolis FC's Mehdi Abdi Qara as the winner of the Best Headers of 2020, Ramin Rezaeian of Al Duhail topped the Best Free-kicks, Al Nassr's Abdulrahman Al Obaid won the Best Long-Range Goals, Abderrazak Hamdallah's strike against Qatar's Al Saad on Matchday One was voted as the winner of the Best Team Goals while Persepolis' Qara topped the Best Last Minute Goals.

Our next instalment looks at some game-defining saves and invites you, the fan, to tell us which was your favourite.

The AFC Cup All-time XI is taking shape, with players from East to West earning the approval of football followers from across the continent, but who will be tasked with adding trickery, creativity and energy from wide positions?

We’ve picked out 12 superb options; some of them known for being prolific scorers, some for their work as providers, and others who are remembered for specific moments in the tournament – and It’s up to you to choose your favourite.

With 122 goals, seven winners’ medals and three MVP awards among the nominees, there is ample quality to choose from, so study our list of contenders and don’t forget to register your vote.

Next week: Strikers