AFC 2019 Asian Cup Qualifiers | India get a favorable draw

The last time India featured in the main round of the AFC Asian Cup was back in 2011 when Qatar hosted the event. The Blue Tigers, who have achieved the 129th place in the FIFA rankings earlier this month, have received a fairly favorable draw, which took place in UAE today, for the event.

India will open their campaign against Myanmar on March 28, followed by clashes against Macau and Kyrgyzstan – the other two teams in the Group A. Kyrgyzstan are the highest ranked team in the group at 124, however, they have lost both of their previous encounters against India. Myanmar are ranked 159th by FIFA, but they have a fairly good head-to-head record against India. Out of the 19 games played between India and their neighbors so far, the former have won eight, lost eight, and drawn three.

Macau, placed at 184 in the rankings, are the lowest-ranked team in the group, and India will be facing them for the first time.

With the main tournament being expanded to 24 teams for the first time in its history, India’s chance have increased by leaps and bounds. Australia, China PR, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan and hosts the United Arab Emirates have already qualified for the event through the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2.

These 12 teams will be joined by 12 teams from this qualifying event. The top two teams from each of the groups will grab a place in the extravaganza to be hosted by UAE between January 5, 2019 and February 1, 2019.

The final groups:

Group A: Kyrgyzstan, India, Myanmar, Macau

Group B: North Korea, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Malaysia

Group C: Jordan, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Cambodia

Group D: Oman, Palestine, Maldives, Bhutan

Group E: Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, Singapore

Group F: Philippines, Tajikistan, Yemen, Nepal

India's matches (Group A):

March 28, 2017: Myanmar v India

June 13, 2017: India v Kyrgyzstan

September 5, 2017: Macau v India

October 10, 2017: India v Macau

November 14, 2017: India v Myanmar

March 27, 2018: Kyrgyzstan v India