We at Insidesport.IN can EXCLUSIVELY confirm that the schedule for Merdeka Cup 2023 has to undergone certain changes. This comes after the Palestine Football Team withdrew from the Merdeka Cup owing to the Israel-Palestine war situation. The Indian Football Team will start their campaign against Malaysia on October 13 as scheduled. However, Sunil CHhetri & co will aim for final on October 17.
Revised Schedule Of Merdeka Cup 2023:
- 13 Oct India vs Malaysia
- 17 Oct Tajikistan vs Malaysia/India
The Palestine Football Team has pulled out of the Merdeka Cup 2023. This comes in the wake of Hamas’s incursions into Israel on Saturday morning. Travel is difficult owing to the closure of all border crossings and Lod Airport as a result of the Israel-Palestine war. Due to the rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground, the Palestine Football Association has announced that there would be no matches this week.
On Saturday morning, Hamas-led Palestinian resistance organisations in Gaza announced a full-scale military invasion into the communities. It even covers settlements along the Israel-Gaza border.
The Merdeka Cup 2023 was to feature four teams, with Palestine taking on Tajikistan in the first game. Lebanon was scheduled to face Palestine, but the squad backed out. Palestine was the top seed in the league, ranking 96th in the current FIFA football rankings, followed by India (102nd), Tajikistan (110th), and Malaysia (136th).
Merdeka Cup, also known as Pestabola Merdeka, began in 1957 as an international friendly football competition to commemorate the country’s independence day. The tournament, which last took place in 2013, is making a ten-year comeback.
The 26-member probable list for Merdeka Cup 2023 is as follows
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Vishal Kaith and Dheeraj Singh.
Defenders: Nikhil Poojary, Roshan Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra and Subhasish Bose.
Midfielders: Jeakson Singh, Suresh Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Sahal Abdul Samad, Brandon Fernandes, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Udanta Singh, Vikram Pratap Singh, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Liston Colaco and Nandhakumar Sekar.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri and Manvir Singh.
