Asian Cup Group C - Iran, UAE, Palestine, Hong Kong

Statbox on Group C at the Asian Cup, which will be held in Qatar from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10:

IRAN

FIFA Ranking: 21

Best finish: Champions (1968, 1972, 1976)

Coach: Amir Ghalenoei

Prospects: Heavyweights Iran are always among the favourites to win the Asian Cup and the three-times champions head into the competition on an unbeaten run of 12 games, with their last defeat coming over a year ago at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Mehdi Taremi's poor club form with Porto may be the cause of some concern for Iran's fans, but with six goals in his last six international games there is little doubt that the striker will flourish at the Asian Cup.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

FIFA Ranking: 64

Best finish: Runners-up (1996)

Coach: Paulo Bento (Portugal)

Prospects: The United Arab Emirates, who finished third in 2015 and fourth in 2019, will be looking for another strong showing in neighbouring Qatar.

Bento was brought into the fold after a disappointing group stage exit at last year's Gulf Cup and the UAE won six straight games under the former South Korea coach before losing to Oman.

PALESTINE

FIFA Ranking: 99

Best finish: Group stage (2015, 2019)

Coach: Makram Daboub (Tunisia)

Prospects: Palestine's preparations for the Asian Cup have been anything but smooth amid the conflict in Gaza and a first win in an Asian Cup match in their third finals campaign might be the realistic extent of their ambitions.

Despite their off-field worries, Palestine have had some positive results in the last year, including a win over Bahrain.

HONG KONG

FIFA Ranking: 150

Best finish: Third place (1956)

Coach: Jorn Andersen (Norway)

Prospects: Hong Kong, the lowest-ranked team in the continental tournament, have the odds stacked against them in their first Asian Cup campaign since