Syria start their campaign in Group D on Thursday against Australia and the 22-year-old is hoping the competition can be a career launch pad in a manner similar to current AFC Player of the Year Omar Khribin.

Khribin featured in both of the previous editions of the competition before going on to spearhead Syria’s attempt to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2018 Finals while also taking Al Hilal to the final of the 2017 AFC Champions League.

“The most important thing is that there are no superstars in our team,” says Ashkar, who plays his club football for Al Jaish. “We dream that our career will kick off through this tournament.

“In the past, the players who have gone on to become superstars in Syria started to rise through this tournament, but most importantly we dream that we bring happiness to our people in the same way that our senior team did.”

“That was my first involvement with the Olyroos and it was a real eye-opener, especially playing in Asia and against other national teams,” said Deng (pictured above, No 20) of the 2016 campaign. “That was good and it’s taught me a lot about what to expect, how to deal with things here.

“We have a good squad here, a good group of boys and we’re looking forward to the competition. We have a very good team, some very good players and we’re really looking forward to it and hopefully we can start with a win against Syria and have a successful campaign.”

Australia’s status as one of the strongest nations in the Confederation – thanks to their AFC Asian Cup win in 2015 and four consecutive FIFA World Cup qualifications – ensures theirs is a significant scalp for many opponents.

But despite teams often raising their game to face Australia, Deng insists he and his teammates relish the challenge.

Oman head into the game having qualified on home soil in fine style thanks to successive wins over Kyrgyz Republic and then the Islamic Republic of Iran, but can expect plenty of partisan support for their opponents at the Changzhou Olympic Sports Centre.

Despite the potential difficulties his side could face, Al Azani is nevertheless convinced that the talented squad he has assembled will hold their own, even suggesting that the home side could well be the one that is unsettled the most.

“Of course, China are playing at home and they are in front of their own fans,” he told the-AFC.com.

“We expect lots of fans to support China in the opening match, but I hope this does not create too much pressure for us, although I do believe that it may even add to the pressure on China [to perform well].

“If there is pressure on my team, then it is up to us, as the technical staff, to deal with it.”

Having travelled over 2,500 kilometres up north, the young War Elephants have had to cope with unfamiliar weather conditions but the Buriram United midfielder is confident of his team’s chances.

“The weather is just one aspect of football and it’s not the main problem for the team,” said Sarachat. “We arrived in China PR on January 3 and have slowly adapted and are confident of playing in the cold weather.”

Despite being just 19, his successes with club and country saw him being called up to the senior team, and he was  part of the squad for the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Asian Qualifiers.

That, however, meant Sarachat missed out on the AFC U23 Championship 2018 Qualifiers but he has made up for lost time through conversations with his seniors.

“I try to learn from my senior players, and before the tournament, I asked them for advice regarding the coach, tactics and what to expect,” said Sarachat.

Thailand lost 2-1 against Australia on Sunday - their final friendly ahead of the tournament. Sarachat scored the consolation goal in the 70th minute, and took the defeat as a stepping stone towards growth.

“In the match against Australia, we had a lot of chances to score and I feel responsible for not giving us a win,” said the Football Association of Thailand’s 2017 Best Young Player.

“Nonetheless, the team remain positive. The fact that we created opportunities to score against Australia means that the team are developing, and we will improve to change opportunities into goals.”

The 22-year-old rising star has just sealed a permanent move to Chinese Super League side Beijing Guoan from Portugal’s Leixoes, and now looks set to play a major role for the hosts as they seek to gain an early advantage in a potentially difficult Group A which also includes Uzbekistan and Qatar.

Whilst adamant that their West Asian opponents should not be underestimated, Wei believes his teammates are fully focused on the job in hand.

As hosts, the Qataris started the competition brightly two years ago, before losing out to Korea Republic in the semi-finals and then suffering an agonising extra-time defeat against Iraq in the play-off for third place.

Some 24 months later, Afif and his teammates have arrived in China eager to write a new and successful chapter in the rich history of Qatari football, starting with their opening day Group A clash against Uzbekistan.

“It is true that the last AFC U23 Championship in Qatar was a disappointing one for us,” the 21-year-old midfielder told the-AFC.com.

“Nevertheless, this time around we have almost the same squad as the one we had in 2016, and we hope that we have learned from our experiences in the last competition.

“There is no doubt that we are now looking to achieve something here in China.”

The White Wolves topped their group during the July qualifiers thanks to successive victories over Lebanon, Nepal and then – crucially – the United Arab Emirates.

Having successfully guided his country to a third appearance at the continental tournament, the former Uzbekistan senior team coach is now understandably eager for the momentum on show in Al Ain to continue in China PR. 

“It is only natural that we hope to continue the form we showed during the qualifiers,” Khaydarov told the-AFC.com.

“After the qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates my players have enjoyed six very good months or so with their respective teams and have gained even more experience.

“One or two aspects may have changed, but I am certainly looking to them to take the good form from our qualifiers into the Finals.”