Thailand’s last appearance at the continental competition was as co-hosts in 2007, while the only time the Southeast Asian nation have gone beyond the first round was back in 1972 when, again as hosts, they finished third in the six-team tournament.

The-AFC.com looks at what could unfold at the prestigious tournament draw event in Dubai and which teams could be pitted against one another in the proverbial group of death, groups of champions, familiar foes and more.

First Round:

The first round of qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 took place more than three years ago in March 2015.

Sunil Chhetri netted twice for India in a 2-0 home victory over Nepal in Guwahati and the South Asians advanced to the next stage by the same scoreline after a scoreless draw in the second leg in Guwahati.

Elsewhere, Yemen overcame Pakistan, while there were also wins for Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste, who all advanced to the second round of qualifying.

As the number one ranked team in Asia, expectations are high in Iran that 2019 might be the year that Carlos Queiroz’s side lifts high the continent’s biggest prize.

One of the players hoping to return his country to the top of Asia is Alireza Jahanbakhsh, and the-AFC.com recently spoke to the Netherlands-based forward to get his thoughts on the tournament ahead of the upcoming AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Official Draw.

Italian Zaccheroni led the East Asians to their last continental title back in 2011 during four years at the helm of the Samurai Blue before stepping down following the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

After a short stint in China with Beijing Guoan in 2016, Zaccheroni was tempted back into international management in October last year as the UAE entrusted the former AC Milan and Juventus head coach as the man to bring glory to the Gulf state on home soil in early 2019.

The 25-year-old lifted the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009 with Switzerland, before turning down an offer from Juventus and seeing a potential move to Hamburg in the German Bundesliga collapse.

It was an inauspicious start, but nowadays Chappuis is an icon in Thailand, a country relishing its 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia qualifying journey.

The War Elephants are currently competing in the decisive third round of the AFC qualifying section for the first time ever and will continue their bid for glory against Saudi Arabia in Bangkok on Thursday and away in Japan five days later.

"I'm really happy with how my life and my career have developed," Chappuis told FIFA.com recently.

"However, given what I know now, when I look back, I sometimes think that maybe I should've accepted the offer from Juventus after winning the U-17 World Cup. Then again, at the time I was nervous about going abroad and leaving my family."

Chappuis may now be far away from the bright lights of Serie A, the Bundesliga or the Premier League, where former team-mates Haris Seferovic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka from the Swiss U-17 class of 2009 ply their trade, but the attacking midfielder is successfully forging his own path in professional football.