In his career so far, Schrock, 32, has played a part in several historic milestones for Filipino football.

From lining up in the Philippines side that achieved the 'Miracle of Hanoi' to secure a maiden AFF Cup semi-final place in 2010, to turning club side Ceres Negros into a force to be reckoned with in continental club football - winning the inaugural AFC Cup ASEAN Zone in 2017 and then defeating Brisbane Roar in Australia in the 2018 AFC Champions League play-offs.

Arnold’s squad, which has an average age of 26, will assemble in the United Arab Emirates for Australia’s pre-tournament training camp from December 26, and will open their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 campaign against Jordan at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain on January 6.

Australia’s squad for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 features a strong A-League flavour, with three current players – Josh Risdon (Western Sydney Wanderers FC), Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC), and Chris Ikonomidis (Perth Glory FC) – receiving call-ups for the prestigious competition.

The Central Asians will be making their first-ever appearance at the AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates and China PR will be their first opponents in Group C, with Krestinin confident he can take his team into the last 16 on their debut.

While FIFA World Cup winner Lippi leads a squad who regularly play and train alongside some of the finest talent in the sport, Krestinin believes the number of foreign players in Chinese football may not necessarily be an advantage for the Italian coach’s team.

The Qasioun Eagles have never survived the group stage at the Continental Finals, but the current Syrian side is one with ample reason to believe they are capable of going to the knockout stage and beyond.

Prolific striker Al Somah and 2017 AFC Player of the Year Omar Khribin are the spearheads of a talented Syrian squad, which went within 180 minutes of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup before losing a play-off thriller to reigning Asian champions Australia 3-2 over two legs.

Syria are set to face the Australians again in the UAE but Al Somah isn't interested in looking back, preferring to focus on a competition he believes his side are capable of winning.

Although he has never played his club football abroad, Wu Lei is widely regarded as one of the top players to have emerged from China PR over the past decade. His two nominations of the AFC Player of the Year award - he finished third in both 2016 and 2017 - are testament to his status in Asian football.

Nationality: China PR
Date of birth: 19/11/1991
Position: Winger
Current club: Shanghai SIPG
Previous clubs: None

As the Continent’s most-anticipated showpiece draws closer, the three debutants are leaving nothing to chance in their quests to confirm their deserving place amongst Asia’s elite.

Philippines extended their outstanding form beyond their Qualifiers, impressing with a six-match unbeaten run since March, which included commendable draws against Bahrain, Oman and Thailand before their narrow defeat to Vietnam in the AFF Cup semi-finals last week.

22 of the 24 participating nations will likely have a birthday boy amongst their ranks, with 2007 winners Iraq heading the list given they could potentially have seven players set to blow out the candles should they progress to at least the quarter-finals.