The Indian senior nationwide males’s soccer crew will tackle Mongolia on the opening day to restart its quest to regain the crown within the Intercontinental Cup, which will get underway right here on the Kalinga Stadium on Friday.
The invitational event hosted by India, which noticed its first version in Mumbai in 2018, is a chance for the nationwide aspect to check its preparedness forward of the continental and world competitions.
India received the inaugural version earlier than it misplaced the crown within the subsequent version when DPR Korea grew to become the champion in 2019.
The event resumes after a three-year hiatus owing to the pandemic and comes as an vital occasion when the senior Indian crew is starting its preparations for the Asian Cup problem in January .
Lebanon (FIFA rating 99), Vanuatu (164) and Mongolia (183) are the three visiting sides within the four-team event that will probably be performed in round-robin format earlier than the 2 greatest positioned groups play the ultimate on June 18.
The Indian crew, which received a tri-nation competitors in Manipur in March, has reassembled right here in a three-week camp to organize for one more spherical of aggressive matches.
The nationwide aspect will probably be enjoying two back-to-back tournaments with the SAFF Championship instantly following the Intercontinental Cup.
Indian head coach Igor Stimac introduced a squad of 26 gamers after conducting a sequence of checks to evaluate their health and the ultimate choice headed by captain Sunil Chhetri will probably be carrying the nation’s aspirations within the upcoming tournaments.
“Although our opponents are not as tough as the teams we’ll face in the Asian Cup, t0hey’re still good and competitive. Mongolia is a very aggressive side with a lot of young players in midfield and upfront,” Stimac stated on the eve of the match.
“Each game will be a challenge for us. We’ve had enough time for preparation. Our players are here to prove that they deserve their place in the National Team,” he added.
India is anticipated to play 9 matches within the two tournaments in June, which Stimac feels will give the Indian aspect some good publicity with groups like Lebanon and Kuwait (in SAFF Championship as an invitee) offering a better stage of competitors to his boys.
“All the other three teams are ranked higher than us. But we will fight and try to have better games against them. We are very motivated to showcase our football here,” stated Ichiro Otsuka, the Japanese coach answerable for the Mongolian nationwide crew.
The Japanese coach stated that his aspect is making ready for the World Cup qualifiers later this yr and the event will probably be a great studying expertise for his boys.
Motivated by the large assist the nationwide crew obtained in Manipur, Stimac stated his crew will probably be anticipating a whole lot of assist from the soccer followers of Odisha, which has supplied “fantastic” coaching services to his crew.
“Playing at home will be a big advantage for us. I hope to see a large number of supporters cheering for us. We saw in Manipur that when we are surrounded by passionate fans who shower us with their love, the team produces good results,” the previous Croatian World Cupper stated.
The Indian Squad
Goalkeepers – Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Phurba Lachenpa Tempa; Defenders – Subhasish Bose, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra, Mehtab Singh, Rahul Bheke; Midfielders – Liston Colaco, Ashique Kuruniyan, Rohit Kumar, Udanta Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Jeakson Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Lalengmawia Ralte, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rowllin Borges, Nandha Kumar; Forwards – Sunil Chhetri, Rahim Ali and Ishan Pandita.
Friday’s matches: Lebanon vs Vanuatu (4.30 pm); India vs Mongolia (7.30 pm).
