India to host Puerto Rico in football friendly
Indian football team will take on Puerto Rico, who are ranked no.114 in the world, at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai in an international friendly on September 3, the AIFF announced on Thursday. The Indian team will assemble in Mumbai for a training camp on August 28th.
As part of their preparations for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers, India will face Puerto Rico during the international break in September. All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced through the official website on Thursday that the national team will play the North-American side in an international friendly on September 3.
Following the announcement, Indian head coach Stephen Constantine suggested that the only way for the team to improve is to play higher ranked nations.
“During my previous tenure in India, we regularly played higher ranked Teams. It’s the best way to test yourself. Puerto Rico are presently ranked 114 and we look forward to playing them,” he told aiff.com.
India had defeated Bhutan 3-0 in an unofficial friendly last week.
This will also be the first time the Mumbai Football Arena, also known as the Andheri Sports Complex, will be hosting a professional football match after previously hosting a charity match between Bollywood stars and cricketers a few months back.
Constantine and his assistant manager, Shanmugam Venkatesh will arrive in Mumbai on August 21 in order to inspect the venue and the facilities. Once the squad is announced, the players will have to report to the preparatory camp from 28th August.
“The pre-season training camp had its own benefits and they were visible even in the high altitude in our unofficial Friendly match against Bhutan in Thimphu. But this will be an entirely different ball game,” the coach said ahead of the preparatory camp.
Currently, India are ranked 152 in the FIFA Rankings, 38 places below Puerto Rico.