Abu Dhabi: India enter the biggest ever Asian Cup, starting here Saturday, hoping to exorcise the ghosts of a disastrous outing in 2011 and using it as a stepping stone to realise the dream of making the 2026 World Cup.
The Asian Football Confederation’s continental showpiece, which has seen an increase in the number of finalists from 16 to 24, kicks off with hosts United Arab Emirates taking on Bahrain in a Group A fixture at the Zayed Sports City Stadium.
India, placed in the same group as the host nation, will begin their campaign with a game against Thailand at the Al Nahyan Stadium, the home ground of Al Wahda club, Sunday.
This is their fourth appearance at the showpiece event with the best results coming in the 1964 edition finishing runners-up behind eventual winners Israel. However the Blue tigers had a forgettable tourney eight years ago when they bowed out of the tournament in the group stages itself without registering a single victory.
Though not as dominant as the Koreans or the Australians, India will still have their task cut out against well-oiled teams such as Bahrain, Thailand and UAE.
Bidding to defend the title won on home soil in 2015, Australia come into the tournament as one of the contenders after head coach Graham Arnold put his players through the grind. They will be entering a new era without stalwarts Tim Cahill and Mile Jedinak.
Neighbours South Korea and Japan will resume their rivalry with both teams having their eyes trained at the trophy while Iraq, who won the tournament in 2007 and finished among the last four years ago, will be another to watch out for.
