India will face Pakistan, Nepal and invited nation Kuwait in the 2023 SAFF Championship hosted by the nation in Bengaluru from 21 June 2023 to 4 July 2023. The draw for the 14th edition of the competition took place in New Delhi on Wednesday, 17 May 2023. Along with being the hosts, India are also the current and record champions of the tournament having won the previous edition and their eighth title in 2021.
The Senior Men’s team will participate in the SAFF Championship after playing the Intercontinental Cup in the same month. This is also the last tournament for them on home soil this year before they travel to Thailand to play in the King’s Cup and later to Malaysia to compete in the Merdeka Cup. The competition between the teams will increase from here. These games are played in preparation for the Asian Cup in Qatar next year.
Group A
India (101)
Kuwait (143)
Nepal (174)
Pakistan (195)
India take the automatic position in Group A for being the host nation and they will open their journey against Pakistan on 21 June 2023 in the late evening kick-off. AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran said that the Pakistani contingent has applied for visas to travel to India and the process is so underway. The board will coordinate with the concerned ministries of the government to have the game played. The Blue Tigers have a more than decent record against their Northern neighbours, winning 19 of 32 meetings and losing just five.
Igor Stimac’s side will face Nepal in their second group stage match, a side whom they beat in the 2021 final to win their eighth SAFF Championship title. Sunil Chhetri, Suresh Wangjam and Sahal Abdul Samad’s strikes in the second half clinched the silverware. In total, India have lost only once in the eight meetings facing the Gorkhalis, winning the rest of the games.
Ranked 143 in FIFA rankings, Kuwait should be another easy opponent for India to get past and eventually win the group. However, the Blue Tigers suffered humiliation the last meeting against the nation from the West Asian Confederation in a 9-1 defeat back in 2010.
India will face the runners-up from Group B in the semi-final of the 2023 SAFF Championship. The other group containing Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and invited nation Lebanon. By the look of things, the Blue Tigers are most certain to face Bangladesh or Maldives on 1 July 2023 with Lebanon likely to win the group. The final of the competition is on 4 July 2023.
Fixtures
21 June 2023
India vs Pakistan
24 June 2023
Nepal vs India
27 June 2023
India vs Kuwait
Knockouts
Semifinals
1 July 2023
SF1: Group A Champion vs Group B Runners-up
SF2: Group B Champions vs Group A Runners-up
Final
4 July 2023
SF1 winner vs SF 2 winner
Note: All timings are in Indian Standard time (IST)
