New Delhi: The Indian men’s football team will face North Korea, Syria and Tajikistan in the second edition of the Intercontinental Cup, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed Monday, but the announcement came hours after Tajikistan Football Association (TFA) tweeted about the same.
“All India Football Federation confirms the participation of Syria, DPR Korea, and Tajikistan as the participating teams of the second edition of the Hero Intercontinental Cup from July 7-17, 2019,” the AIFF said in a release.
However, many hours before the AIFF announcement, TFA tweeted, “Tajik national team to play against Syria, North Korea and India at the Intercontinental Cup 2019.
“The rivals of the national team of Tajikistan were identified at the international tournament ‘Intercontinental Cup 2019’, which will be held from 7 to 18 July in India.”
The Blue Tigers come into the competition as defending champions, having won the inaugural edition in June last year after defeating Kenya in the final, courtesy a brace from Sunil Chhetri.
AIFF general secretary Kushal Das mentioned that the forthcoming Intercontinental Cup will be an ‘acid test’ for the Blue Tigers ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, which kick off in September.
“In June, the national team is scheduled to participate in the King’s Cup in Thailand where we play Curacao in our first match, and then either Vietnam or Thailand. These matches will hold us in good stead for the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers starting in September 2019,” he stated.
While the TFA has stated Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore for the venue, the Trans Stadia in Ahmadabad is also doing the rounds to host the tournament. However, there was no such confirmation regarding the venue.
