The dates for the Hero Intercontinental Cup fixtures have been confirmed by the AIFF. Hosts India will play their first game against Mongolia on 9th June 2023 after the curtain raiser between Lebanon and Vanuatu. The tournament makes a return after four years and will be played in a round-robin format. The top two sides in the table at the end of three rounds of games will qualify for the final on 18th July 2023. All matches will be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, India.
India’s senior men’s team will use this tournament as part of their preparation for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup hosted by Qatar to be played in January 2024. The Blue Tigers won the inaugural edition of the competition in 2018 while North Korea won the title a year later before the next editions of the tournament were halted due to the pandemic. India is entering this tournament on the back of winning the Hero Tri-nation Cup in Imphal, Manipur in March earlier this year.
Squad
Head Coach Igor Stimac announced a provisional 41-player squad for the national team camp in Orissa to begin next week. The final squad list for the tournament is expected to be announced later this month. To know more details, check Indian Senior Men’s Team announces 41 players provisional squad
Participating Nations
Lebanon (99)
India (101)
Vanuatu (164)
Mongolia (183)
India will look to clinch the Hero Intercontinental Cup trophy again by playing against sides either close to their FIFA rankings or below them. Mongolia are the weakest opposition in that regard in the tournament and is a three-pointer opening barring any upset. The same goes for the other two competing nations, Vanuatu and Lebanon against whom the Blue Tigers should not find it difficult to reach the final by topping the chart. The 2018 winners will also be confident to extend their five-game unbeaten streak on home soil. Lebanon are the next favourites to reach the final on 18th June 2023.
Fixtures
Friday, 9 June 2023
Lebanon vs Vanuatu - 16:30 (IST)
India vs Mongolia - 19:30 (IST)
Monday, 12 June 2023
Mongolia vs Lebanon - 16:30 (IST)
Vanuatu vs India - 19:30 (IST)
Thursday, 15 June 2023
Vanuatu vs Mongolia - 16:30 (IST)
India vs Lebanon - 19:30 (IST)
Sunday, 18 June 2023
FINAL: First Place vs Second Place - 19:30 (IST)
2023 AFC Asian Cup Draw
The 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage draw took place in Doha, Qatar on 11th May 2023 to divide the 24 qualified nations into six groups for the tournament starting in January next year. To know India’s opponents in the competition, check out India placed in Group B of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023
More Preparations
India will stay at home to play the 2023 SAFF Championship, being the hosts of the competition, this time, in Bengaluru only days after the Hero Intercontinental Cup. Next, the Blue Tigers will travel to Thailand to play the King’s Cup and then to Malaysia to compete in the historical Merdeka Cup. That will be the last tournament for Stimac’s men before the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in November 2023 and the Asian Cup in 2024. To know more about the schedule, check Indian Senior Men’s team faces a busy schedule after the Tri-nation cup triumph
