New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: The third edition of the Hero Intercontinental Cup football tournament, which will have three other teams besides hosts India, will be held in Bhubaneswar between June 9 and 18.
Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu are the other three teams taking part in the tournament.
Out of the four participating sides, Lebanon is the highest ranked in the latest FIFA chart at 99, while India is at 101. Vanuatu (164) and Mongolia (183) are ranked lower than India.
India won the inaugural edition of the tournament held in Mumbai in 2018 but finished a disappointing fourth and last in the previous tournament in Ahmedabad in 2019.
“The four-team Hero Intercontinental Cup will be played in the FIFA International Window from June 9 to 18, with hosts India being joined by Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu in the tournament,” the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said in a release.
“Imphal had experienced the joy of international football in March, and now it’s Bhubaneswar’s turn to join the country’s growing map of international venues for men’s football,” Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran said.
“Bhubaneswar was one of the venues of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, and with that, we have seen some excellent infrastructure being developed by the Government of Odisha,” he said.
“It is a legacy that the U-17 Women’s World Cup has left behind and has paved the path for the Senior Men’s National Team to now play in the city for the first time in its history.”
The Indian men’s national team had previously never played against Mongolia and Vanuatu. India had played against Lebanon six matches earlier.
The Blue Tigers are currently on a five-match unbeaten streak on home turf, a run that began June 8 last year with a 2-0 win over Cambodia in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Round 3 in Kolkata.
Since then, Igor Stimac’s men have defeated Afghanistan (2-1), Hong Kong (4-0) before wins over Myanmar (1-0) and Kyrgyz Republic (2-0) in Imphal in tri-nation tournament.
PTI