Pim Verbeek's squad will play in Group F of the Continental showpiece with four-time champions Japan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan for company.

However, with the tournament hosted by neighbours UAE and expanded to include a Round of 16, there are high hopes for Oman to make history, especially after their 2017 Gulf Cup triumph.

One of the Reds' brightest hopes in the attacking third is winger Jameel Al Yahmadi. The youngster was drafted into the first team in 2017 and grew into one of the nation's best attacking players.

Nationality: Oman
Date of birth: 27/07/1996
Position: Midfielder
Current club: Al Wakrah (Qatar)
Previous clubs: Al Shabab (Oman)

The west Asian nation will be making their fourth appearance at the continental championship, but the veteran Dutchman knows that his team’s success in last year’s hotly-contested regional tournament can help take his team to the next level in the UAE in January.

“It gives confidence to the players, to the selection, not only the first XI but all the players, that we can beat teams, good teams,” Verbeek told the-AFC.com of the impact of his side’s Gulf Cup triumph. “We’re back at the front in the Gulf and now the next step is to do that at the Asian level.”

The Blue Tigers will be competing in the Continental showpiece for the fourth time in their history, having previously participated in the 1964, 1984 and 2011 editions.

Head coach Stephen Constantine had named a 34-man preliminary squad for the biggest-ever AFC Asian Cup which was trimmed to 28 before boarding the plane to Abu Dhabi. A final list of 23-players will be announced next week.

The world’s second-oldest Continental football competition will welcome an all-star cast of head coaches who have enjoyed success on the world’s biggest stages with China PR’s Marcelo Lippi boasting the most impressive resume, having guided Italy to the 2006 FIFA World Cup title in Germany.

Coming in a close second is Philippines head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson who led England to two quarter-finals at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups while Islamic Republic of Iran’s head coach Carlos Queiroz has the honour of helping three teams qualify for the FIFA World Cup – South Africa, then with his native Portugal and twice with Team Melli in 2014 and 2018.

Finding its way to the Emirates Group HQ Building at the Dubai International Airport, the new silverware was greeted by representatives from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the UAE 2019 Local Organising Committee as well as long-time AFC partners, Emirates Airlines.

AFC Tournament Director Shin Man Gil said: “The trophy tour for the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup was truly an epic journey as this was the first time a new trophy has been commissioned in over 62 years of the tournament’s proud history.

Sat inside her small decorated cubicle, Ai Yuasa is wearing a bright white Kimono and a smile on her face as she immerses herself in the traditional Japanese tradition of "Chado", the ceremonial preparation and presentation of a type of green tea called Matcha.