The lack of preparatory games for the Indian national football team during the lead-up to the AFC Asian Cup 2023 has left fans puzzled. Igor Stimac's side had last tasted international action during the final break of 2023 when they played Bahrain and Qatar in the dual FIFA World Cup 2026-AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers. Furthermore, they are among the few teams partaking in the continental competition to commence their campaign without some practice hours in the bag, sparking questions among the Indian football fraternity. (More Football News)
However, if reports from China's Titan Sports are to be believed, India did schedule a friendly match with China PR for the same purposes, only for the game to be called off due to a scheduling clash with the Indian Super League. The 2023-24 season of ISL came to a screeching halt at the end of the previous year to allow ample time for the players involved in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 to link up with the national team.
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China, nonetheless, continued with their practice matches, playing Oman on December 29, 2023, and then Hong Kong a few days later at the Baniyas Stadium in the United Arab Emirates. Ranked 79th in the world in the latest batch of FIFA rankings, the Dragon's Team lost both matches.
Barring any late surprises, the Indian football team will next play Australia in their opening match of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 on January 13, a day after the tournament begins in Qatar. Five days after their opener, the Blue Tigers will face Uzbekistan before closing their group-stage campaign with a game against Syria on January 23.
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India will partake in the continent's football's crown jewel for just the fifth time in history. The Blue Tigers, despite being a founding member of the Asian Football Confederation, only appeared in the Asian Cup for the first time in 1964, when they qualified by default after all teams in their qualification group withdrew their names from the pot. In the four-team finals, India finished second, behind hosts Israel, capping their golden age with their best finish in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Sunil Chhetri and Co. last participated in the competition in 2019 in the United Arab Emirates, where they missed out on the knockouts by a whisker. Nevertheless, their return to the pan-Asian cup in early 2024 will be a historical milestone, for they would have partaken in successive tournament editions for the first time in history.
