The 2007 edition was a historic one for a variety of reasons; four different nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam) co-hosted the AFC Asian Cup for the first and only time in the competition's history, as Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation and made their continental debut.

History was made in the final as we saw a seventh different nation crowned champions of Asia. An unfancied Iraq side beat the odds to win their maiden AFC Asian Cup title. The tournament also got its own official match ball for the first time ever with the introduction of the Nike Mercurial AC.

The expanded AFC Asian Cup 2019 will see 24 teams in action, which sets the stage for exciting matches in the Continental showpiece and the-AFC.com takes a look at Groups D, E and F.

While Asia’s top five teams have just finished their 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia campaign, the rest have begun preparations for the Continental showpiece on January 5-February 1, 2019.

Adding to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 will be several debutants and join the-AFC.com as we take a look at the cast for Groups A, B and C.

Join the-AFC.com as we review the key milestones and game-changing enhancements introduced to guarantee Asia’s passionate fans and brightest talents experience a tournament of a lifetime.

Tadanari Lee may not have been the prolific goal scorer for Japan that Kunishige Kamamoto or Kazuyoshi Miura were, but having only registered two goals for his nation, he will always have a place in history books and in the memory of Japanese football fans.

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the first time the Samurai Blue failed to reach the final in two decades, so when the following edition rolled around, there was an unprecedented level of determination to make amends.

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.

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