Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers: India in Group D with Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia

The Indian men's football team has been clubbed with Hong Kong, Afghanistan, and Cambodia in the Group D of the Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers. India drew with these countries at the official draw ceremony on Thursday. Asian Football Confederation Headquarters conducted the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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The third round of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification; Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers will begin from 8 June. It will continue till 14 June 2022 in six centralized venues. India will kick off the leg against Cambodia on 8 June. The Blue Tigers will then face Afghanistan and Hong Kong on June 11 on June 14 respectively.

India previously reached the final round of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers. The team finished in the third rank in Group E in the second round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Joint Qualifiers.

Afghanistan have always been a difficult opponent: Igor Stimac

Head Coach Igor Stimac said after the draw, "Draws can always be good or bad. But we need to do our job. We plan to begin our preparatory camp in Kolkata from the first week of May. But players from Mumbai City FC won't be available before May 29 owing to their club commitments in the AFC Champions League. Furthermore, most likely ATK Mohun Bagan is also likely to be involved in the AFC Cup, and their players will also be unavailable till May 25."

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He further added, "And there are almost 12 or more players from both the clubs who are part of the National Team. In such a situation, we need to check on other players, prepare them and wait for the others to join. The situation is very similar to March prior to the Friendlies."

The team will play next against Bahrain on 23 March and Belarus on March 26. The Head Coach also commented on the other teams in the group. "Afghanistan have always been a difficult opponent. They come with players who have experience playing in international leagues, and Hong Kong will also be strengthened when their three players from Brazil, maybe one each from the UK, and New Zealand join them, along with a host of others who play abroad. But we need to justify our position as a pot 1 team. We are playing at home, and hopefully, with the fans cheering us from the stands, the players will be extra motivated."