Australia will launch an attempt to reach new heights in football by toppling champions Japan and winning their first Asian Cup when they kick off the tournament on Friday.
A sellout crowd is expected at the 30,000-capacity Melbourne Rectangular Stadium as Ange Postecoglou's men take on Kuwait on day one of the 16-nation extravaganza.
An eventual victory for Australia would put the country on top at both club and international level after Western Sydney Wanderers won the AFC Champions League in November.
To walk out to a sellout crowd on Friday night, it's going to make the boys feel a couple of feet taller. I can't wait to get the match started
And it would provide a further boost for soccer among the Australian public, which traditionally prefers the rugby codes, Australian rules and cricket.
Four-time winners Japan are one of their main rivals, despite a match-fixing case linked to their coach, and Carlos Queiroz's Iran also look like top contenders.
South Korea are looking to end a 55-year title drought, but China's new coach Alain Perrin hardly gives his team a chance.
Among the minnows, Palestine have overcome major hurdles to qualify for the first time, and North Korea are trying to escape the group stage for the first occasion since 1980.
Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, but have yet to lift the region's most coveted trophy, after being edged out by Japan in a gripping final in 2011.