From September 7 to 10, the Indian football team will compete in the King’s Cup 2023 competition in Thailand. The Blue Tigers have been paired with Iraq. They will, however, be missing Sunil Chhetri. Igor Stimac is set to name a team of 23 able players for the games.
India’s 23-member squad for the 49th King’s Cup 2023:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh.
Defenders: Asish Rai, Nikhil Poojary, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra, Subhasish Bose.
Midfielders: Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Brandon Fernandes, Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Ashique Kuruniyan, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte.
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Rahul KP.
King’s Cup 2023 Thailand Fixtures revealed, Blue Tigers to face Iraq
However, Sunil Chhetri, the captain, has requested to be excused from the tournament. Additionally, it has to do with the dates being close to the birth of his first child. Chhetri confirmed his and his wife Sona Chhetri’s pregnancy with a goal against Vanuatu in this year’s Intercontinental Cup.
Since 1968, Thailand has hosted an annual international football competition known as the King’s Cup. Thailand has participated in every edition.
Iraq, India, Tajikistan, and Thailand will compete in the 49th edition of the football tournament. Iraq, the 2007 Asian champions, will be the competition’s best team, currently ranked 67th in the world.
According to the draw method, Iraq, the team with the highest FIFA ranking (70th), and Thailand, the hosts and 113th-ranked team, were paired up against each other individually. They were paired with 99th-ranked India and 100th-ranked Lebanon. India’s most recent meeting with Iraq ended in a friendly defeat in Baghdad in 2010.
Indian Football Team will compete in Thailand’s King’s Cup for the fourth time, the most recent being in 2019. Consequently. the Blue Tigers lost to Curaçao in the semifinals at the time before defeating Thailand’s hosts 1-0 to take bronze.
However, when India made their tournament debut in 1977, they also won a bronze medal. Additionally, they also defeated countries like as Singapore, South Korea, and Indonesia. In 1981, India was eliminated from the group stage.
49th King’s Cup 2023 Fixtures:
- 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.
