Check out the schedule, date and fixtures as India face participants Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu in the Intercontinental Cup 2023
The third Intercontinental Cup 2023 football competition will be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, from June 9 to 18, according to a statement made on Wednesday by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
The Blue Tigers are on a five-match unbeaten streak on home turf, a run that began on June 8, 2022, with a 2-0 win over Cambodia in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers Round 3 in Kolkata. Since then, Igor Stimac’s boys have defeated Afghanistan (2-1), Hong Kong (4-0), and then on to the Hero Tri-Nation, where they beat Myanmar (1-0) and the Kyrgyz Republic (2-0) in Imphal.
Hero Intercontinental Cup India 2023 schedule, date, participants teams, matches list, venue and format
The four-team football tournament will take place during the FIFA international window. The competition made its debut in 2018 to replace the Nehru Cup.
Lebanon, Mongolia, and Vanuatu will be the other three teams competing in the competition in addition to the hosts, India.
The highest-ranked team in the competition is Lebanon, which is ranked 99, while India is number 101 in the most recent FIFA rankings. In contrast, Mongolia and Vanuatu are ranked 183 and 164, respectively.
Mongolia and Vanuatu have never been opponents of the Indian men’s football team.
India won the tournament’s first edition in 2018, however, North Korea won the second edition in 2019, and India came in fourth.
Igor Stimac is the head coach of India, who has won all five of their home games without a loss.
In Kolkata’s Round 3 of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers on June 8, 2017, India defeated Cambodia 2-0 to start the streak.
Since then, India has defeated Myanmar (1-0), Kyrgyz Republic (2-0), Hong Kong (4-0) and Afghanistan (2-1).
The Intercontinental Cup will precede the 14th SAFF Men’s Football Tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Bangalore from June 21 to July 3, 2023.
🇮🇳 India [FIFA: 101] 🏡
🇱🇧 Lebanon [FIFA: 99]
🇻🇺 Vanuatu [FIFA: 164]
🇲🇳 Mongolia [FIFA: 183]Hero Intercontinental Cup, Bhubaneswar, June 2023.#IndianFootball
— Debojyoti Sarkar 🇮🇳🇦🇷 (@djsarkar18) April 19, 2023
Bhubaneswar to host Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023 in June! 🔵🏆
The 4️⃣-team Hero Intercontinental Cup will be played from June 9 to 18, with hosts India🇮🇳 being joined by Lebanon🇱🇧, Mongolia🇲🇳 and Vanuatu🇻🇺 #IndianFootball #BackTheBlue #BlueTigers #HalfwayFootball pic.twitter.com/3fq43uxDPa
— Halfway Football (@HalfwayFootball) April 20, 2023
Where will the Intercontinental Cup 2023 be held?
After successfully hosting the hockey World Cup for the second time in a row early this year and the U-17 Women’s World Cup last year, Bhubaneswar is ready to welcome the senior men’s national football team of India for the first time when they play in the Intercontinental Cup in June of this year.
Due to Odisha FC’s great performance in the Indian Super League this season, the city, which is swiftly developing into the country’s sports centre, has seen a substantial spike in interest in football.
Additionally, the group has excelled in the current Super Cup, where they have reached the semifinals.