The 49th King’s Cup 2023 Thailand semifinal matchup pits the Indian football team against Iraq. On Wednesday, August 16, 2023, the Football Association of Thailand held the draw ceremony.
On September 7, 2023, the game will be held in the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Later on the same day, Thailand will compete against Lebanon in the other semifinal.
Blues Captain Sunil Chhetri requests to be exempted from King’s Cup
49th King’s Cup 2023 Draw Result:
- Iraq vs India (16:00 IST, September 7, 2023)
- Thailand vs Lebanon (19:00 IST, September 7, 2023)
- Third-place play-off (16:00 IST, September 10, 2023)
- Final (19:00 IST, September 10, 2023)
All matches will take place at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The 49th King’s Cup 2023 final will be played on September 10 between the semifinalists. In the third-place playoff, the losers will face off.
Iraq, the side with the highest FIFA ranking (70th), and Thailand, the hosts and 113th-ranked squad, were matched up against each other separately according to the draw mechanism. They drew with the other two teams, 99th-ranked India and 100th-ranked Lebanon. India’s most recent encounter with Iraq ended in a friendly loss for them in Baghdad in 2010.
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India will participate in the King’s Cup in Thailand for the fourth time, the most recent being in 2019. The Blue Tigers lost to Curaçao at that time in the semifinals before defeating Thailand’s hosts 1-0 to win the bronze.
However, In 1977, when they made their tournament debut, India also won a bronze medal. Additionally They triumphed over nations like Singapore, South Korea, and Indonesia. India was disqualified in the group stage in 1981.
Captain Sunil Chhetri has asked to be exempted from the tournament. It is with the dates being close to the delivery of his firstborn. Chhetri announced the news of him and his wife Sona Chhetri expecting with a goal against Vanuatu in the Intercontinental Cup this year.
