Palestine will be playing at this level for only the second time and a January 6 clash in Sharjah against the Syrians could prove decisive for qualification to the knockout stage from a group which also includes reigning champions Australia and Jordan.

“The first game in a tournament is always the most difficult,” Ali told the-AFC.com in an exclusive interview.

“When you start a tournament, you are looking for rhythm. The rhythm in training or during a preparatory match is not the same as the rhythm you are supposed to have in a proper match situation,” Ali added.

Now in his second spell at the helm, Arnold will oversee his country’s challenge at the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 hoping to surpass the quarter-final showing in South East Asia and build on his own success as a coach in the ensuing dozen years.

““It feels great,” he told the-AFC.com of his return to the competition. “In 2007 I was the interim coach and I probably didn’t deserve to be in that job and that role at that time, but I have gone away and worked hard in club land and I feel that I deserve the role this time. So, I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead.

“It was our first time in Asia and it was our first time in a major tournament in Asia, so we learnt a lot from it. We learnt that you need to prepare properly, that there are no easy games, that you need to be mentally switched on for every game, and that you need to adapt to the conditions to the style of game that you play.”

The goalkeeper was just 18 years old when he was included in the India squad for the 2011 edition when the Blue Tigers were drawn alongside continental heavyweights Australia, Korea Republic and Bahrain.

And although Gurpreet got no game time as the South Asians ultimately lost all three of their matches, he looks back on the experience as a positive one that helped him progress in his career.

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.

Next in the-AFC.com's '10 of the Best' series, we've compiled a list of veterans who continue to perform at the very highest level for club and country, and will be striving to inspire their nations to glory come January.

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Saudi Arabia's last of three titles was won when the UAE hosted the 1996 edition and Juan Antonio Pizzi's squad are aiming to repeat history.

Drawn in Group E, Saudi Arabia will open their campaign DPR Korea on January 8 before playing Lebanon on January 12 and Qatar five days later.

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.