New Delhi: India will kick off the Intercontinental Cup 2019 against Tajikistan on July 7 while the tournament will take place at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad from July 7-18. AIFF, on Monday, announced the full set of fixtures for the second edition of the four-team tournament.
India's second match will be played on July 13 against DPR Korea, followed by Syria on July 16. The tournament is based on a round robin format and the top two teams stage will qualify for the final, which is scheduled on July 18.
According to the latest FIFA rankings released in April 2019, Syria are ranked 83rd followed by Tajikistan on 120 and DPR Korea at 121st spot. India currently occupy the 101st position in the rankings.
The Blue Tigers are the competition's defending champions as they lifted the trophy last year with a victory against Kenya in the final, where Player of the Tournament Sunil Chhetri scored twice. The other two teams that competed last year were New Zealand and Chinese Taipei.
The Indian side, under new head coach Igor Stimac, shall be heading into the tournament at the back of valuable experience from the King's Cup 2019 in Thailand, where India finished third among four team. India had lost their opener against Curacao 3-1 but then beat Thailand 1-0 in the third place playoff. Anirudh Thapa was the scorer for India against Thailand.
The Hero Intercontinental Cup 2019 fixtures are as follows:
July 07: India vs Tajikistan
July 08: Syria vs DPR Korea
July 10: Tajikistan vs Syria
July 13: India vs DPR Korea
July 15: DPR Korea vs Tajikistan
July 16: India vs Syria
July 18: Final
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