AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers: The Indian football team have been drawn in Group D in the third round of Afc Asian Cup qualifiers. The Blue Tigers will face the likes of Hong Kong, Cambodia and Afghanistan in their attempt to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Follow all the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Updates only on InsideSport.IN
It looks like a good draw for Igor Stimac and his men as all three teams are ranked lower than India. Cambodia are placed lowest with a FIFA ranking of 171 whereas Afghanistan and Hong Kong are 148 and 150 respectively.
The moment we've all been waiting for! The #BlueTigers 🐯 have been placed in Group D of the @afcasiancup Final Round Qualifiers 🤩
Group D
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🇰🇭#ACQ2023 🏆 #BackTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/iCv34tW4ew— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) February 24, 2022
The third and final round of the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers will see a total of 11 teams qualify for the main event in China next year. Already 13 teams have made their way through by performing well in the World Cup qualifiers. Hence the next teams to make it through will be the six group winners and the five best placed runners.
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The matches will be held in six pre-decided centralised venues in a single leg round-robin format. The entirety of Group D which includes India as the host nation will be played in Kolkata.
“We had bid to host the third round qualifiers of the AFC Asian Cup, and are grateful to the Asian Football Confederation for accepting our bid,” All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das said earlier when India was accepted as one of the six different hosts.
“We understand that playing at home, and that too in Kolkata will be an added advantage to the Blue Tigers in our quest to qualify for the Asian Cup,” he added.
Apart from India, the other five hosts are Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan for AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers. The Qualifiers Final Round will be held across three match days on June 8, 11 and 14, 2022, while the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 will start on June 16, 2023.
With the qualifiers coming up, Igor Stimac will soon call a camp right after the completion of the current Indian Super League season. The players out from the league stage will join the camp before the one who will feature in the playoffs. The Blues Tigers will face Bahrain and Belarus as a preparation for the upcoming Asian Cup qualifiers.
“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.
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