The former AFC Player of the Year and two-time winner of the AFC Champions League leads a China side that is amongst the oldest at the tournament and which boasts a group of players who have been hugely successful at domestic and continental level.

And the Guangzhou Evergrande veteran feels the knowledge that comes with winning crunch games in the AFC Champions League and the Chinese Super League will be key as China seek a spot in the last eight of the competition.

The Shanghai SIPG forward has been training separately from his teammates since sustaining the injury against Kyrgyz Republic on Matchday One but Lippi will pick the 27-year-old as the Chinese attempt to win a game in the knockout phase of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 2004.

The two sides met twice in the UAE 2019 Qualifiers, with the matches ending 1-1 and 0-0, but that was before Borkelmans took over the reins from Jamal Ahmad Abu Abed.

A veteran at 36, it is 15 years since Shafi made his continental bow in China, where Jordan excelled to reach the last eight in their first appearance at the Finals, where they fell to eventual winners Japan on penalties.

Just like in 2004, Al-Nashama have flown through the group stage unbeaten and without conceding a goal in the current AFC Asian Cup, and, with a quarter-final place up for grabs once again, their experienced shot-stopper hopes that is not where the similarities will end.

Three-time champions Iran may be the favourites but Oman, said skipper Ahmed Al Mahaijri, are not daunted with the prospect of facing the Continent's top ranked team.

"Iran is a very strong team but so are we. We played Japan and Uzbekistan and we showed that we can hold our own against teams who are ranked much higher than us," said Al Mahaijri.

"We have already created history by making the knockout stage but we are not satisfied with just that. We want to create more history."

The Koreans won the AFC Asian Cup in 1956 and 1960 – the first two editions of the competition – but have failed to add a third title to the pair in the 15 instalments of the tournament since.

But the Newcastle United midfielder believes Paulo Bento and his team have the tools to finally bring that run of disappointment to an end in the United Arab Emirates over the coming weeks.

The line-up was confirmed on Thursday, when Oman and Vietnam claimed the Round of 16's two remaining places, setting the scene for what promises to be an unforgettable climax to the largest ever edition of the competition.