Big names came to the fore for Iran, Korea Republic, Syria and China, while fresh-faced youngsters left their mark for Japan, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, with Asia’s Qatar 2022 picture beginning to take shape.
After 12 matches and 38 goals, the-afc.com picked out 10 outstanding performers from the week that was.
Sardar Azmoun
2 games (179 minutes), 2 assists, 5 shots at goal
For club and country, Sardar Azmoun is the player his teammates look towards when a goal is required, but Iran’s finisher extraordinaire this week made his biggest impact as a provider.
A terrific give-and-go with Mehdi Taremi supplied the FC Porto man for the winner against the UAE, before a hanging looping cross against Korea Republic allowed Alireza Jahanbakhsh to net the equalizer, and Team Melli to retain top spot in Group A.
Son Heung-min (Korea Republic), Salaah Al Yahyeai (Oman), Ajdin Hrustic (Australia), Ao Tanaka (Japan), Mohammad Kdouh (Lebanon), Firas Al Buraikin (Saudi Arabia), Omar Khribin (Syria), Wu Lei (China) and PRNguyen Tien Linh (Vietnam) have also been shortlisted for the accolade.