Shaikh Salman explained that the decision is in line with the FIFA Council's endorsement to lift the ban on hosting international matches in Iraq last year and the AFC President added that the latest decision - delivered in a letter from FIFA President Gianni Infantino - is a "great achievement for Iraqi football, and will be a great support for the development efforts for the game in the country."

With players based from Cyprus to Canada and the Maldives to Melbourne, there are few parts of the globe unrepresented in Dastgir’s side, who will face Qatar in Doha on September 5, before Dushanbe, Tajikistan plays host to a home meeting with Bangladesh five days later.

Afghanistan’s squad members ply their trade in a total of 14 nations, with the Germany-based quartet of Zubayr Amiri, Abassin Alikhil, Hassan Amin and uncapped goalkeeper Hellal Hosseini making it the most common home, ahead of the Afghan Premier League, which provides three players, all from champions Toofan Harirod,

Singapore will play their first two Group D fixtures on home soil, where they will host Yemen at the National Stadium on September 5, before facing Palestine at the Jalan Besar Stadium five days later.

The players, having rested for nearly three weeks, are set to return to action when they play their first match of the Asian Qualifiers against Afghanistan on September 10 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

Head coach Jamie Day has made several changes to the 25-member preliminary squad from the one that defeated Laos in the first round of the Asian Qualifiers, adding six players and one new face.

The Nepalese travel to Kuwait on September 5 to challenge the hosts and 1980 AFC Asian Cup champions in their opening Group B Qualifiers. The West Asians represent a daunting task for Nepal. The first meeting between the two nations saw Kuwait triumph 5-0 in a 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualifier but nearly two decades on, Nepal, now coached by Swede Johan Kalin, showed what progress they have made when the pair reunited in a couple of friendlies in March.

What had been anticipated as one-sided matches turned out to be closely contested, with the strongly-favoured Kuwait held to a goalless draw on home soil in the first match, before managing a solitary-goal win.

The Harimau Malaya were involved in the first round of the Asian Qualifiers in June, and Tan has kept 18 players from the squad that beat Timor-Leste 12-2 on aggregate.

The move sees the Brazilian-born forward become the first player without Chinese heritage to be called up by the East Asian powerhouse.

Elkeson, who never featured for Brazil’s senior team, is eligible to play for China after plying his trade in the country since 2013.