India take on Afghanistan in the inaugural match, followed by Chinese Taipei and Philippines.

"We would try to qualify for the second stage as all the teams in our group are of same standard," said India's Uzbek coach Islam Akhmedov.

"First match is always difficult so I am expecting a tough game against Afghanistan tomorrow," he added.

Afghanistan coach Mohammed Yousuf Kargar, however, wants his players to gain more experience from this tournament.

"We have no injury worries and I want our players to go all out tomorrow."

Philippines' coach Aris Caslib, however, was confident of a good showing in the 16-team tournament despite the absence of Younghusband brothers Philip and James, the Chelsea reserves.

"We have many equally talented players and I am sure that they can pull of surprises," he said.

Toshiaki Imai, who took over the reins of Chinese Taipei two months back, said his players have improved since their twin loss at the hands of Iran and Syria in the AFC Asian Cup 2007 qualifiers.

"The players are learning fast and I hope they won't repeat the mistakes. Our aim is to reach the second round," he said.