Lebanon, Chinese Taipei and Indonesia, however, will relish the opportunity of locking horns with the 12-time champion.

This may be a new-look Iran squad, with four-time AFC Futsal Player of the Year Ali Asghar Hassanzadeh not in the team, but Iran will be the clear favorite in the group.

Iran will start the campaign with a match against Indonesia on September 28.

Team Melli will also play Chinese Taipei and Lebanon on September 30 and October 2, respectively.