Annadurdyyew was the team's top goal scorer with eight goals in Altyn Asyr's historic run to the 2018 AFC Cup final. The versatile forward was equally important at the national team level, finishing as the side's joint-top scorer in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 qualifiers.

Nationality: Turkmenistan Date of birth: 13/04/1993 Position: Forward Current club: Altyn Asyr Previous clubs: FC Ahal

Palestine will be playing at this level for only the second time and a January 6 clash in Sharjah against the Syrians could prove decisive for qualification to the knockout stage from a group which also includes reigning champions Australia and Jordan.

“The first game in a tournament is always the most difficult,” Ali told the-AFC.com in an exclusive interview.

“When you start a tournament, you are looking for rhythm. The rhythm in training or during a preparatory match is not the same as the rhythm you are supposed to have in a proper match situation,” Ali added.

Now in his second spell at the helm, Arnold will oversee his country’s challenge at the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 hoping to surpass the quarter-final showing in South East Asia and build on his own success as a coach in the ensuing dozen years.

““It feels great,” he told the-AFC.com of his return to the competition. “In 2007 I was the interim coach and I probably didn’t deserve to be in that job and that role at that time, but I have gone away and worked hard in club land and I feel that I deserve the role this time. So, I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead.

“It was our first time in Asia and it was our first time in a major tournament in Asia, so we learnt a lot from it. We learnt that you need to prepare properly, that there are no easy games, that you need to be mentally switched on for every game, and that you need to adapt to the conditions to the style of game that you play.”

The 30-year-old shined the brightest for Kyrgyz Republic in their road to the AFC Asian Cup, bagging 10 of his country's 14 goals in the qualifiers as they pipped Myanmar and Macau to qualify from Group A alongside India.

Nationality: Kyrgyz Republic
Date of birth: 11/12/1988
Position: Forward
Current club: Atyrau (Kazakhstan)
Previous clubs: Abdish-Ata Kant (Kyrgyz Republic), Taraz, Aktobe, Kairat, Kaisar (Kazakhstan), Giresunspor (Turkey), Radnički Niš (Serbia), Sisaket, Sukhothai (Thailand), Ska Khabarovsk (Russia)

The Central Asians will be making their first-ever appearance at the AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates and China PR will be their first opponents in Group C, with Krestinin confident he can take his team into the last 16 on their debut.

While FIFA World Cup winner Lippi leads a squad who regularly play and train alongside some of the finest talent in the sport, Krestinin believes the number of foreign players in Chinese football may not necessarily be an advantage for the Italian coach’s team.

Team Melli retained their position in 29th spot, with Australia, Japan, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia's positions also unchanged at 29th, 41st, 50th, 53rd, and 69th respectively to complete Asia's top five.

All five teams will convene in the United Arab Emirates, where they will be joined by 19 other nations - including hosts UAE - for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

Preparations for all teams have gathered pace with a series of friendly matches taking place over the next two weeks, before the Continental showpiece kicks off on January 5.

In his career so far, Schrock, 32, has played a part in several historic milestones for Filipino football.

From lining up in the Philippines side that achieved the 'Miracle of Hanoi' to secure a maiden AFF Cup semi-final place in 2010, to turning club side Ceres Negros into a force to be reckoned with in continental club football - winning the inaugural AFC Cup ASEAN Zone in 2017 and then defeating Brisbane Roar in Australia in the 2018 AFC Champions League play-offs.