Saudi Arabia suffered a 5-0 defeat to hosts Russia in their FIFA World Cup opener but showed quality in their next two matches, a 1-0 loss to Uruguay and a 2-1 win over Egypt to end their campaign on a high.

Pizzi admitted the defeat to Russia had been a morale-shattering experience for the Green Falcons.

Midfielder Lee Jae-sung knocked home a rebound after Son Heung-min's penalty attempt rang off the post in the 35th minute at the Goyang Stadium, while fellow midfielder Nam Tae-hee scored his first international goal in nearly two years for second-half insurance.

Bento, the former Portugal boss that was named as Korea Republic's head coach on August 17, enjoyed a convincing victory over the world ranked No. 32 Costa Rica.

While Korea Republic's Lee Seung-woo and Australia's Daniel Arzani are among the young Asian stars to make headlines in 2018, Palestine look to have unearthed a gem of their own in 19-year-old Oday Dabbagh.

The youngster, who plays club football for West Bank Premier League champions Hilal Al-Quds, rounded out an impressive overall performance with his first senior international goal in Thursday's 1-1 friendly draw with Kyrgyz Republic, putting his name firmly in the selection frame for January's Finals.

From now until September 30th, 2018, football fans can submit their slogan proposals for their favourite teams via the AFC’s social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, in the first phase of the contest, with the ultimate winners receiving an autographed national team jersey.

And the ultimate accolade will see the 24 winners have their slogans painted on the official team buses, which will be broadcast across the world and will ferry some of Asian football’s biggest names between the eight stadiums across the four cities, from January 5 to February 1, 2019.

It's no overstatement to stay that one of the standout games of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup was not the final, nor semi-final, but an action-packed quarter-final away from the big city lights of Sydney and Melbourne, but in the country's eighth largest city, the capital Canberra.

Never considered a football-hotbed - Canberra even now still lacks an A-League side - the Australian seat of government, for one night in January 2015, was turned into the centre of Asian football as Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq played out an instant classic in the tournament's last eight.

The 55-year-old former Slovenia and Yugoslavia international, who had also previously managed Macedonia, United Arab Emirates and Slovenia, said there would be a transitioning period but he is committed in ensuring Iraq achieve success.

“I am happy and proud to be the new coach of Iraq but there is not going to be a quick solution,” said Katanec, who has replaced Basim Qasim.

“This is going to be a long process and it is going to take time to build the team at all levels. It is an exciting challenge, however, as there is a lot of talent in Iraq and if we can start moving in the right direction, then I am confident that we can have success.”

AFC General Secretary Dato’ Windsor John said: “Asian football continues to make giant strides on the world stage and the remarkable growth and stature of the AFC Asian Cup exemplifies the undeniable progress of football in the Continent. Emirates have been a long-standing partner of the AFC and we would like to thank them for their firm belief in the development and ever-improving proposition of Asian football.

“Through this partnership with Emirates Holidays, we are confident that we will engage with more families, more passionate fans of all ages, from across all the five AFC regions and beyond. Together with the LOC and Emirates Holidays, the AFC is committed to staging an AFC Asian Cup of world class standards – a true celebration of Bringing Asia Together.”

Through the partnership, Emirates Holidays will offer a broad range of excellent value packages to football fans traveling to Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah to support their teams. Each package has been designed for country specific football fans which includes match ticket(s), accommodation and return flights with Emirates Airline.