After the grand success of the Hero Tri-Nation International Football Tournament in Manipur, Bhubaneswar will host the Senior Men’s National Team. It will be ready to hold the Hero Intercontinental Cup in June. The four-team Hero Intercontinental Cup will be played in the FIFA International Window from June 9 to 18. India will join Lebanon, Mongolia, and Vanuatu in the tournament.

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The Indian Men’s National Team had never played against Mongolia and Vanuatu before. India played against Lebanon six times before.

Intercontinental Cup:

This will be the third edition of the Hero Intercontinental Cup. The previous two were held in Mumbai (2018) and Ahmedabad (2019). Federation Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran welcomed Odisha into the fold of senior Men’s International football. He said, “Imphal had experienced the joy of International football in March. Now it’s Bhubaneswar’s turn to join the country’s growing map of international venues for men’s football.“

Bhubaneswar was one of the venues of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. The government of Odisha developed Some excellent infrastructure. Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran added, “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.“

“If you look at what happened in Manipur, it was held for the first time, and that way we are confident that fans in Odisha will display equal enthusiasm for the event,” said Dr. Prabhakaran. “We are also hopeful that Odisha football will benefit greatly from hosting the Hero Intercontinental Cup.”

The Blue Tigers are currently on a five-match unbeaten streak on home turf. The run began on June 8, 2022, with a 2-0 win over Cambodia in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers Round 3 in Kolkata. Since then, Igor Stimac’s boys have defeated Afghanistan (2-1), Hong Kong (4-0), and then on to the Hero Tri-Nation, where they beat Myanmar (1-0) and the Kyrgyz Republic (2-0) in Imphal.