The Spaniard, whose side have been drawn to face Lebanon, DPR Korea and three-time winners Saudi Arabia in Group E, will kick off their campaign in Al Ain on January 9 against the Lebanese and Sanchez is refusing to look beyond the meeting at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.

QATAR 0-1 ALGERIA

Doha: Drawn in Group E in the Continental showpiece, Qatar had enjoyed an undefeated streak since their win over Switzerland in November which was put to a halt by a Baghdad Bounedjah goal in the 57th minute.

Felix Sanchez's side will have one more friendly with Islamic Republic of Iran on New Year's Eve before heading to the UAE to open their campaign against Lebanon at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium on January 9.

They will play DPR Korea and Saudi Arabia on January 13 and 17 respectively.

Almoez Ali gave Qatar the lead in the 31st minute and substitute Ahmad Abdelmutaal added the second in second half added time in a match which was played behind closed doors.

Qatar have been enjoying a rich vein of form in their buildup to the AFC Asian Cup, having defeated - among others - Switzerland, Ecuador and China PR in friendlies.

Qatar, who are in Group E, will face Lebanon on January 9 in their opening AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 match. They will then face DPR Korea on January 13 before concluding their group stage campaign against three-time champions Saudi Arabia four days later.

The West Asians have four friendlies lined - against Jordan on December 23, Kyrgyz Republic two days later, Algeria (December 27) and Islamic Republic of Iran on December 31 - which Sanchez believes will sharpen his players for the Continental showcase in the UAE.

“The four friendly matches will be a good opportunity to prepare the players. I have several players to choose from the preparatory camp and I will wait till the friendly matches to decide on the final squad," said Sanchez, who has to name his final squad by December 26.

He called up 27 players for the final phase of training ahead of their Group E challenge which also has Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and DPR Korea.

Football fans from across the globe will feast their eyes on the abundance of talent from the 552 players selected and leading the way is none other than Uzbekistan’s Ignatiy Nesterov who is in line to join an exclusive elite group to feature in a record fifth AFC Asian Cup tournament.

“Since I took over in September I have been trying a lot of things. My focus is on developing a system and so far I am very happy with the progress the team and I have made,” former Belgian international Borkelmans told the-AFC.com in an exclusive interview.

“The players have responded well to my methods. In fact, credit to them that they made my job of selecting the team very difficult!”

Nabbout, currently playing in Japan for Urawa Red Diamonds, made a name for himself in the A-League with Melbourne Victory before really turning things on last season with the Newcastle Jets.

He believes Arnold has instilled a brand of football that utilises the pacy, attacking qualities of his teammates which includes the likes of himself, Robbie Kruse, Mat Leckie and Martin Boyle.