We examine all details regarding the 2023 Merdeka Cup Tournament scheduled for October, where hosts Malaysia will play against in-form India in the semi-final schedule
For the 2023 Merdeka Tournament, 96th ranked Palestine are labelled as the tournament favorite alongside 99th ranked India. Meanwhile, Malaysia are ranked 136th in the world and Tajikistan sit in 110th place of the FIFA Men’s World Rankings. In their most recent clash in 2011, India defeated Malaysia by score of 3-2 during a friendly match, which took place in Kolkata.
Merdeka Cup Tournament 2023 semi-final schedule, date, time table, teams, fixtures list, live stream telecast in India
๐จ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ช ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐๐ง๐ฆ โ๏ธ
๐ฎ๐ณ๐ฏ The #BlueTigers will play hosts Malaysia ๐ฒ๐พ in the Merdeka Tournament in October ๐๏ธ
Details ๐ https://t.co/imL2oaxSaK#IndianFootball โฝ pic.twitter.com/4r6shrL87L
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) August 8, 2023
2023 Merdeka Tournament India vs Malaysia semi-final schedule, date, venue, & match preview
On 13th October, Indian men’s football team will face-off against hosts Malaysia in the semi-final of the 2023 Merdeka Tournament. Notably, the game will be hosted inside Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil National Stadium. Earlier on August 8, FA Malaysia conducted the draw of 2023 Merdeka Cup football tournament. The Merdeka Cup, also known as Pestabola Merdeka, is an annual international football friendly competition held in Malaysia to commemorate the nation’s independence day.
However, the event is returning after a ten-year hiatus. The last time it was contested was in 2013. India has participated in 17 of the 41 iterations of the Merdeka tournament, with its most recent appearance occurring in 2001. The second-place finishes in 1959 and 1964 at the Malaysian competition were India’s best results. India lost all three games in 2001 while having IM Vijayan on the team, and they were eliminated from the group stage.
Merdeka Tournament 2023: draw & schedule
With Palestine clashing against Tajikistan in the other semi-final, the Merdeka Cup 2023 will include four teams. Initially, Lebanon was supposed to play Palestine, but they withdrew and Tajikistan joined as their replacement. On October 17, the two semi-final winners will play in the championship game, while the two losing teams will compete for third-place earlier that day. Notably, India’s upcoming match against Malaysia would be the 32nd match between these teams.
we examine the complete schedule of the 2023 Merdeka Tournament:
October 13, Friday
Palestine vs Tajikistan (Semi-Final 1: 2:00 PM IST)
Semi-final 2: Malaysia vs India (Semi-Final 2: 6:30 PM IST)
17th October, Tuesday
Loser of SF1 vs Loser of SF2 (Third-Place Play-off: 2:00 PM IST)
Winner of SF1 vs Winner of SF2 (Final: 6:30 PM IST)