Kritsada Wongkaeo and Jirawat Sornwichian starred for Thailand in an emphatic victory at the Khor Fakkan Futsal Club Hall in the United Arab Emirates, leaving Iraq with an uphill task going into the return leg on Tuesday.

Since 2017, the AFC Cup has been regionalised into a Zonal system and, to celebrate the fifth edition of the competition's restructure, we look back at the last four tournaments and highlight one memorable match from each year of the West Zone ahead of its return on May 21.

Also this week, AFC Champions League-conquering Istiklol continued their rise up the table in Tajikistan, while Kyrgyz Republic’s FC Alga reclaimed top spot in the absence of Dordoi.

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The Football Association of Thailand confirmed the 31-year-old full-back had pulled out on social media on Wednesday, citing the requirement to complete a compulsory 14-day quarantine period upon his return to Japan upon the conclusion of qualifying as the reason.

From terrific team goals to amazing acrobatics and fantastic free-kicks, the West Asian clubs have more than contributed their share of memorable AFC Cup highlights.

The-AFC.com turns the clock back to recollect five outstanding entries to the competition's collection ahead of the 2021 AFC Cup's West Zone kick-off on May 21. Don't forget to vote for your favourite at the bottom of the article!

Eldor Shomurodov and Maya Yoshida starred in Italy, while Takefusa Kubo made a major impact in Spain and women’s stars from Asia’s two most popular countries made memorable contributions on opposite sides of the globe.

But who deserves this week’s crown? Study our shortlist – based on performances from May 12 to 18 – and cast your vote.

The win strengthened Al Hilal's position at the top of the standings as they claimed their 16th victory of the season to maintain a four-point gap with Al Shabab with two rounds left to play.