Olympics Begin In
:
Days
:
Hours
:
Mins
 
Secs
Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Football

Tournaments India will play before AFC Asian Cup 2023

India recently clinched the Hero Tri-Nation cup as they ramp up their preparation for the all-important AFC Asia Cup 2024.

Tournaments India will play before AFC Asian Cup 2023
X

India are winning the Hero Tri-Nation tournament. (Source: Indian Football Team/Twitter)

By

Shivam Mishra

Updated: 5 April 2023 10:54 AM GMT

The Indian men's football team recently lifted the Hero Tri Nation Cup after defeating Myanmar and Kyrgyz Republic with a bid to prepare for the all-important AFC Asian Cup set to take place in January, 2024, in Qatar.

According to AIFF's 2023 calendar, the national team is set to take part in five tournaments in the build up to the Asian Cup, the most action the team will see in a calendar year in a long time. Here are the following tournaments in which the Indian team is going to play before the AFC Asia cup 2023:

  • Intercontinental Cup

It will be the first competitive tournament for the Indian national senior men's team after the Hero Tri Nation Cup which took place in Imphal, Manipur. The Intercontinental Cup was first started by the All India Football Federation back in 2018, a tournament that was to be hosted in India.

In the first edition, the hosts emerged victorious, overcoming participating nations Kenya, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei. In the second edition, which was also the last one to take place before the Coivd-19 pandemic hit, was clinched by North Korea, going past India, Syria, and Tajikistan.

While the nations for the 2023 edition are yet to be confirmed, the tournament is set to be held between June 8-18.

  • SAFF Cup

Right after the Intercontinental Cup is the SAFF Championship. The 14th edition of the SAFF Men's Championship will be held in Bangalore, India from 21st June to 3rd July 2023. 8-time winners India would be looking to add another trophy to their cabinet.

All member nations of the South Asian Football Federation are expected to participate in this edition, with the teams getting divided into two groups where they will play in a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals.

  • Kings Cup

Established in 1968, India has clinched the bronze medal twice (1977 and 2019) at the prestigious King's Cup tournament, organised by the Football Association of Thailand. The Blue Tigers are set to participate in the tournament once again, hoping to better the colour of the medal.

The AIFF has already confirmed their participation in the King's Cup to be played during the International Window in between September 7 and 10. The other participating teams are reported to be UAE, Lebanon, and hosts Thailand.

  • Asian Games

The postponed 2022 Asian Games is scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China from 23rd September to 8th October, 2023. The football tournament at the Asiad became an U-23 one since the 2022 edition, with a maximum of three senior team players allowed to play.

India has two gold medals at the Asian Games (1951 and 1962), and a single bronze clinched at the 1970 edition. The Indian senior team has a lot of youngsters in their main squad, and hence will get some minutes under their belt at this competition.

  • Merdeka Cup

The Football Association of Malaysia recently confirmed that the 42nd edition of the Merdeka Cup will be played between 14th and 17th October, 2023. Apart from India, Palestine, Lebanon, and hosts Malaysia will participate.

  • World Cup 2026 Asia Qualifiers

Although not a tournament, India is scheduled to play the preliminary qualification Round 2 for the Asia qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will take place some time in November, as per FIFA's International match calendar.

This should be the last bit of international action the Indian team gets before they get in their final touches for the AFC Asian Cup, which is set to take place from January 12 to February 10, 2024.

Next Story