India to face Saudi Arabia, China in International friendlies

by Chittu Shetty June 18, 2018

With less than 8 months for the AFC Asian Cup, India are all set to face Saudi Arabia and China in the run-up to the mega-tournament.

Chhetri celebrates his goal with Udanta Sigh at the final of Hero Intercontinental Cup in front of a pack Mumbai Football Arena

Despite the win in the recently concluded Hero Intercontinental Cup, where India faced second string side of Kenya, New Zealand and a young Chinese Taipei; India still has a long way to go when it comes to challenging the Asian Giants.

While the wins in the Intercontinental Cup may have certainly boosted the confidence of team, the loss against New Zealand has certainly shown enough worrying signs. Too much dependence of Chhetri, lack of Back up options in defence are some of the places that the coach would look forward to rectifying. India needs to face tougher opponents in their run-up to next year’s Asian Games and Saudi Arabia, who are currently the part of FIFA World Cup, along with China who are ranked 75th in FIFA rankings will provide the stern test that India will most likely face in the Asian Cup. The friendlies could be played in the month of October and November with one of them being an away fixture.

India are placed alongside UAE, Thailand and Bahrain in Group A of the continental event. For India coach Stephen Constantine these two friendlies will most likely be the last chance in testing his theories, players and strategies.

India has qualified for only the fourth time in Asian Cup with their best finish coming way back in 1964, when they finished runners-up to Israel. India’s next 2 participations came in the year 1984 and 2011, both of which ended in India crashing out in group stage itself.

Can India repeat its 1964 heroics or will it crash out in group stage like 2011 and 1984, everything will depend on how India fairs in the two friendlies against two of best teams of Asia.

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