Intercontinental Cup 2019 | India to play Syria, North Korea and Tajikistan
India would be facing Syria, North Korea, and Tajikistan in the four-nation tournament named Intercontinental Cup, which has been scheduled to start from July 7 to July 18. The Blue Tigers are the defending champions of the cup after they edged past Kenya in the final in Mumbai in the 2018 edition.
The three teams had earlier participated in the 2019 AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Asian Cup, which was held in UAE at the start of the year in between the Indian Super League, and all three were eliminated from the group stage itself.Â
The 2019 edition of the Intercontinental Cup has been scheduled just after India come from their King’s Cup campaign hosted by Thailand, which will also have Curacao and Vietnam. It would be the first major challenge for the country’s incoming manager Igor Stimac, who last recommended as the national coach by the AIFF and AIFF Technical Committee over the likes of Albert Roca, Hakan Ericson, and Lee Ming-sung.
The back to back tournament would be very crucial for the Indian side, who haven’t played since their excruciating AFC Asian Cup group stage exit after they had lost 1-0 to Bahrain’s added-time winner. A lot has changed since then with Stephen Constantine stepping his position in the post-match press conference and veteran defender Anas Edathodika announced his retirement from international football.
