The Indian men's football team has been drawn in Group D of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 third-round qualifications, on Thursday. They will face the likes of Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia in their bid to qualify to the main event in China.
All three opponents are placed below India in the FIFA rankings. Hong Kong are ranked 148 while Afghanistan and Cambodia are 150 and 171 respectively. The matches will take place in June:
June 8: India v Cambodia (YBK, Kolkata)
June 11: India v Afghanistan
June 14: India v Hong Kong
A total of 13 teams have already qualified for the AFC Asian Cup. The third-round qualifications will see six group winners and five second-best runners-up making the cut to the tournament. The matches will be played at the one of the six centralised venues in June with India being chosen as one of the hosts.
Speaking to the AIFF website, head coach Igor Stimac remained upbeat about India's chances, saying "Afghanistan have always been a difficult opponent. They come with players who have experience playing in international leagues, and Hong Kong will also be strengthened when their three players from Brazil, maybe one each from the UK, and New Zealand join them, along with a host of others who play abroad. But we need to justify our position as a pot 1 team. We are playing at home, and hopefully with the fans cheering us from the stands, the players will be extra motivated."
As preparations for their third-round matches, India will play two friendlies against Bahrain and Belarus on March 23 and 26 respectively.
"We are doing our best to prepare well for the upcoming final qualifying round of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, and these two matches will immensely facilitate our preparatory process," head coach Igor Stimac said.
"Both Bahrain and Belarus are ranked higher than us, and if all goes well with the Hero ISL season with our boys putting in good performances, and playing competitive games we should be ready," the coach added.