How are India building up towards the 2023 AFC Asian Cup final round qualifiers?
The Indian national team are preparing for their third round 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers to be held in June.
Having finished third in Group E in the second round 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Igor Stimac's men will be looking to qualify for the final event for the second successive time as they have been grouped alongside Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong in Group D.
In their last appearance in the 2019 Asian Cup finals, India finished bottom of Group A with 3 points from 3 games under Stephen Constantine.
How are India preparing for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup final round qualifiers?
India played two international friendlies against Bahrain (lost 2-1) and Belarus (lost 3-0) in March. The team then assembled for a fitness conditioning program in Bellary, Bengaluru, in April.
Arriving in Kolkata on May 9, the Blue Tigers face ATK Mohun Bagan, an All-Stars team from the I-League and the Bengal Santosh Trophy contingent in practice games before travelling to Doha. In Qatar, they are slated to play an international friendly against Jordan after Zambia backed out due to unavailability of players.
Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
May 11 | ATK Mohun Bagan | Lost 2-1 |
May 17 | I-League All-Stars | TBD |
May 20 | Bengal Santosh Trophy XI | TBD |
May 25 | Zambia | (Cancelled) |
May 28 | Jordan | TBD |
The Blue Tigers lost to ATK Mohun Bagan who are preparing for their 2022 AFC Cup group games, with Liston Colaco and Kiyan Nassiri on target for the Kolkatan outfit and Sunil Chhetri bagging one for India.
When do India play thier third round 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers?
The final round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers will be played across three matchdays - June 8, June 11 and June 14, 2022.
The finals of the competition is set to start around a year later on June 16, 2023. However, the new hosts of the marquee tournament is yet to be announced after China pulled out.
The Indian national team's game will be staged at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan or the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The Blue Tigers are set to play Cambodia on June 8, with fixtures against Afghanistan and Hong Kong at the same venue on June 11 and 14 respectively.
Which teams have qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup?
The teams who have already qualified for the main tournament are China, Japan, Syria, Qatar, South Korea, Australia, Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Vietnam, Oman and Lebanon.