In their first game under Spanish coach Ramrio Amarelle, China PR remained competitive until the final period, but two goals apiece from Hussein Abdullah and Haitham Fattal sealed three points for a Lebanese side chasing a first ever FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup berth.

The only Asian nation to have appeared at every World Cup, the East Asians are one of the Continent's traditional beach soccer heavyweights, and are expected to be among the contenders once again this year, but their highly-experienced mentor expects to be challenged, starting with their opening match against Kuwait.

"I've been involved in beach soccer for over 10 years, and I think this is the most competitive competition we've had in Asia," declared the 62-yer-old.

"I see the coaches and players at the Asian level are growing, and I expect a very difficult competition."

With a legion of stars including Mohammad Masoumizadeh and Mohammad Ali Mokhtari at their disposal, the reigning champions are among the favourites to claim the title on March 17, but Ocatvio knows there are countless examples of highly-favoured teams coming unstuck and urged his players to perform from day one.

"Two days ago we saw Real Madrid lost at home, and we had an experience in my country Brazil, where we lost a (FIFA) World Cup semi-final 7-1 as favourites (against Germany in 2014)," he said.

For more than two decades, life has been a beach for Amarelle. After progressing through the youth ranks as a footballer at Deportivo La Coruña, he made the permanent switch to the sand as a 19-year-old, making his debut for the Spanish national team in 1997.

What followed was a stellar 16-year international career, which included over 300 international goals and an extensive list of individual accolades which included two MVP Awards at FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups in 2003 and 2008.