GH Bank begin their Group B bid against Al Sadaka at Al Rayyan Main Hall on Sunday looking to get off to a winning start against the Lebanese.

“On an international level, Thailand has done reasonably well but we've not won anything at the Asian level so for us, this is an opportunity,” said Iqbal.

“We believe we have a team that can challenge and provide good competition whoever we play against. We respect all our opponents and we are looking forward to playing Al Sadaka because we've played the Lebanon national team and we know they are a good team.

“There are no weak teams. Every one of the teams has ability and could go all the way. It's going to come down to the matchday itself, what we do, discipline, the way we play, keeping our shape, moving well, it's going to come down to that no matter the preparation.

“It's going to be a team effort, don't just focus on the foreigners. Special players exist but it's a team effort. We'd like to start with a win, we would love three points.”

Al Sadaka boss Hussein Dib, meanwhile, is eager for his men to do themselves justice.

“We are a new team and this is our first participation in Asia. Our preparation was quite good, I think our team is ready for the tournament, we have experienced players, we have two professionals,” he said.

“Everybody came here to provide good football and win the trophy. We respect all the teams. Focus, being sharp, these things matter so we will try to play a good quality of football.”

Shahid Mansouri take on Ardus in the other game and despite Iran's exceptional futsal pedigree, boss Reza Lak is not looking too far ahead.

“We are ready, we have good players and information about the Uzbek team so I hope tomorrow we can play a very good match and win,” he said. “We only focus on the first three games. Each match we will take step by step and after that, we will see if we have a chance to win the trophy. “We are ready for this tournament. Our first challenge is that we are playing outside of our own country. We are thinking about the trophy after our first three games. We are sharp, we are ready, we are here to play well. We are very focused to qualify for the finals. All eight teams have high quality players so its going to be a big tournament.”

Ardus coach Alexander Petrov feels his side are underdogs but feels whoever qualifies from Group B can go all the way.

“We are happy to be here. The Iranians are one of the most successful teams not only in Asia but also the world but we will do our best to try and win the match,” he said.

“We've got big goals as our officials put big pressure on this tournament. In my opinion, who qualifies from Group B will go to the finals and win the trophy but the favourites are the Iranian and Japanese teams.

“The mood is good, we are ready and prepared for the tournament. We want to win.”