The shortlist that was announced by the Asian Football Confederation on Sunday included a total of seven players.

In addition to the Arab trio, Iranians Javad Nekounam and Mohamad Salehi Mehdi and Japan’s Yasuhito Endo and Shinji Ono have made the nominee list.

Mahmoud and Akram played pivotal roles in Iraq’s Asian Cup winning campaign this summer while Al-Qahtani, who plays for Al-Hilal, led the Saudis to the final where they lost to their Gulf neighbors.

Both Iraq and Saudi Arabia, along with South Korea are in the running for National Team of the Year award.

The ceremony will take place in Sydney, Australia on November 28th.