There are less than seven days till the Hero Intercontinental Cup. Igor Stimac’s Indian Football Team is focused on putting on a solid performance and winning in Bhubaneswar. For the past two weeks, Sunil Chhetri and company have been practising in the capital as they prepare for forth coming AFC Asian Cup 2023. Live coverage of the Hero Intercontinental Cup will be available on Jio TV, Disney+ Hotstar, and Star Sports Network.
Star Sports to telecast Intercontinental Cup, Live Streaming to be available on Disney+ Hotstar, Jio TV
India is the second-highest-ranked squad in the Hero Intercontinental Cup (101 in the FIFA Rankings). Lebanon (99), who will compete in both competitions, will finish second in the next SAFF Championship in Bengaluru. Playing higher-ranked opponents is unquestionably the greatest way to be ready for the crucial AFC Asian Cup in Qatar the following year. Stimac admitted that playing numerous games and having a longer camp during this timeframe will be beneficial for rotation and for giving everyone more playing time.
“As every team, we are always trying to find better teams to play against and improve our game. We didn’t have enough time to find better-ranked opponents, but I hope in the future, this will change because, for quicker improvement, you need to play tough teams to challenge your strengths and see where you stand,” said Stimac.
“But we are happy with what we have. We have so many tournaments coming up this year starting with the Hero Intercontinental Cup, followed by the SAFF Championship, so possibly nine matches in less than a month. And considering that in the past 12 months, we played eight games, it’s a huge achievement. This is the first time we are preparing in such a way, playing so many matches. I’m confident this will give us better a chance to get results,” he added.
Indian Football Schedule: Sunil Chhetri & Co set for busy calender, kick off…
India will take part in the King’s Cup in Thailand in September. The U-23s will also visit China in the same month for both the Asian Games and the AFC U-23 qualifiers. Next up for the senior squad is the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia in October, which will be followed by the opening two games in the joint qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in November.
India will compete in the King’s Cup in Thailand in September. In addition, the U-23s will go to China in the same month for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers and, subsequently, the Asian Games. The senior team will then compete in the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia in October, followed by the first two matches in the joint qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the AFC Asian Cup 2027 in November.
India will compete in Group B of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar alongside Australia, Syria, and Uzbekistan. Sunil Chhetri and his teammates, led by Igor Stimac, will start their campaign against Australia on January 13th, followed by Syria and Uzbekistan.
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