New Delhi: India will play Cambodia in Phnom Penh on March 22 ahead of the start of their AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers Final Round campaign which is scheduled to get underway later that month.
“We are delighted to confirm an international friendly against Cambodia. The match will help the team prepare better for the crucial first match against Myanmar,” Kushal Das, General Secretary of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said.
India will continue their quest to qualify for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a Group A clash away in Myanmar six days later.
Head coach Stephen Constantine has thanked the AIFF for helping arrange the game.
“I appreciate the efforts of the AIFF in helping me secure the match,” he stated.
“The friendly will help the players understand each other better ahead of our tough challenge against Myanmar. The idea is to play against a team close to Myanmar with regards to climatic conditions.
“We plan to train in Cambodia for some days before proceeding to Yangon directly for our first match in the Qualifiers.”
Groups: AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers Final Round
Group A: A1 Kyrgyz Republic A2 India A3 Myanmar A4 Macau
Group B: B1 DPR Korea B2 Hong Kong B3 Lebanon B4 Malaysia
Group C: C1 Jordan C2 Vietnam C3 Afghanistan C4 Cambodia
Group D: D1 Oman D2 Palestine D3 Maldives D4 Bhutan
Group E: E1 Bahrain E2 Turkmenistan E3 Chinese Taipei E4 Singapore
Group F: F1 Philippines F2 Tajikistan F3 Yemen F4 Nepal
Match Schedule
March 28: 1 v 4 & 3 v 2
June 13: 4 v 3 & 2 v 1
September 5: 4 v 2 & 1 v 3
October 10: 2 v 4 & 3 v 1
November 14: 4 v 1 & 2 v 3
March 27, 2018: 1 v 2 & 3 v 4
Photo: All India Football Federation
Source: the-afc.com