published by, ritayan basu
Last Update: April 19, 2023, 18:34 IST
Indian men’s football team (AIFF)
India will face Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu in the Intercontinental Cup football tournament to be held in Bhubaneswar from June 9 to 18.
The third edition of the Intercontinental Cup football tournament, which will feature three other teams apart from hosts India, will be held in Bhubaneswar from June 9 to 18.
The other three teams participating in the tournament are Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu.
Of the four participating sides, Lebanon is ranked 99th in the latest FIFA charts, while India is ranked 101st. Vanuatu (164) and Mongolia (183) are below India.
India won the inaugural edition of the tournament held in Mumbai in 2018 but finished a disappointing fourth and last in the previous tournament in Ahmedabad in 2019.
“The four-team Hero Intercontinental Cup will be played in the FIFA International Window from June 9 to 18, featuring hosts India, Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu,” the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said in a release. ,
General Secretary Shaji Prabhakaran said, “Imphal experienced the joy of international football in March and now it is Bhubaneswar’s turn to join the country’s growing map of international venues for men’s football.”
“Bhubaneswar was one of the venues for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and along with it we have seen some excellent infrastructure being developed by the Odisha government,” she added.
“It is a legacy that the U-17 Women’s World Cup has left behind and paved the way for the senior men’s national team to play in the city for the first time in history.”
The Indian men’s national team had never played against Mongolia and Vanuatu before. India had earlier played six matches against Lebanon.
The Blue Tigers are currently on a five-match unbeaten streak at home, a run that began with a 2-0 win over Cambodia in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Round 3 in Kolkata on June 8 last year.
Since then, Igor Stimac’s men have given up. Afghanistan (2–1), Hong Kong (4–0) before victories over Myanmar (1–0) and Kyrgyz Republic (2–0) in Imphal in the Tri-Nation Tournament.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
