Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ali Daei, who was top scorer the last time the tournament was held in the UAE in 1996, former China PR and Manchester City star Sun Jihai, current stars India’s Sunil Chhetri and Philip Younghusband from the Philippines will feature alongside draw conductor, AFC General Secretary, Dato’ Windsor John in selecting the teams from the four pots.

Together with UAE legend Zuhair Bakheet, whose role will be unveiled during tomorrow’s draw, the five football luminaries were specially selected to represent all the five AFC zones competing in UAE 2019, exemplifying the tournament slogan of “Bringing Asia Together.”

It was an arduous campaign as 45 teams competed in a qualifying campaign that began in March 2015. Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at the 12 teams who will be in Pots 1 and 2 of the draw for the expanded 24-team AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

Join the-AFC.com as we take a look at the three sides alongside the other nine nations who will be in Pots 3 and 4 of the draw for the expanded 24-team AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates is set to be the largest version of the continental competition yet, with 24 teams going into the Official Draw to be held in Dubai on Friday.

As such, the-AFC.com reached out to each of the Asian Football Confederation's regions (WAFF, CAFA, SAFF, EAFF and ASEAN), for a representative to give their thoughts on the draw and how they see things potentially playing out.

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 excitement for the continental competition starts to build, the-AFC.com picks out some of the key statistics from a tournament which boasts a proud history dating all the way back to 1956.

The site - http://stats.the-afc.com/ - is a one stop centre for everything connected to Asian football.

The statistics page features all competitions organised by the AFC - stretching as far back as the inaugural AFC Asian Cup in 1956.

Fans can track the performance of their favourite teams - be it in the AFC Asian Cup, Women's Asian Cup, the AFC Champions League, the AFC Cup or the numerous age-group Championships organised by the AFC in its continuous efforts to raise the standard of Asian Football - over the years on the statistics page.