Indian men’s football team will be facing heavyweights Iraq in the upcoming King’s Cup in Thailand. The tournament will start on September 7 and run till 10, 2023. According to the draw announced by Thailand Football Association, India will face Iraq, while Thailand will go up against Lebanon in the two semifinals.
The King’s Cup is an annual football tournament hosted by Thailand Football Association. Apart from hosts, Thailand and India, Iraq and Lebanon are the other two teams. This will be the 49th edition of the tournament and Igor Stimac’s men will take on Iraq on September 7, while Thailand will face Lebanon on the same day.
The losers of the two semifinals will play in the third place match, while the winners will fight it out for the title in the final. The final and the third place matches will be play on September 10.
There’s no doubt that India will have a tough match against Iraq. The last time the Blue Tigers faced Iraq was in Baghdad in 2010. India lost the match 2-0 in an international friendly. However the teams have changed a lot in the last decade and it promises to be a very exciting clash for the Blue Tigers.
All the matches will be played at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chang Mai, Thailand.
Interestingly, India are the second highest ranked team in the four-nation tournament. Only Iraq, who are ranked 70th in the world are ahead of them. The Blue Tigers recently pipped Lebanon, who are 100th in the world while hosts Thailand are the lowest ranked team in the competition with 113 FIFA ranking.
Interestingly, this will be India’s fourth participation at the King’s Cup in the tournament’s 49th edition. India finished with a bronze medal in their recent outing in this tournament in 2019. India lost to Curacao before beating Thailand in the third-placed clash. It was Igor Stimac’s first assignment as the head coach of the Indian football team.
India also won the bronze medal in their inaugural appearance at the King’s Cup in 1977, where they outpoerformed South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia. But in their second outing of the tournament in 1981, India bowed out of the group stage.
Apart from the King’s Cup, Igor Stimac will lead the Indian players in several tournaments. Right after the King’s Cup, India will play at the 2023 Asian Games, followed by the Merdeka Cup. There are several age group tournaments in between before the World Cup qualifiers match on November. The Indian Super League will also start adding more footballing action to the menu.
