Indian football team set to lock horns with Vietnam, Singapore in friendlies

The Indian men's football team will play two international friendly matches against Singapore and hosts Vietnam in September, the national federation said on Thursday. The Indian team will face Singapore on September 24 before taking on Vietnam on September 27.

Vietnam is hosting the friendly matches in the FIFA window (September 19 to 27) as part of their preparation for the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup.

The Blue Tigers will travel to Vietnam on September 22 and return on September 28. The matches are expected to take place at Thong Nhat Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) website.

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According to VFF, the three teams will play in a tournament from September 21 to 27 and the team which gets the highest points after a round-robin format will be declared the champion.

India is currently placed 104th on the FIFA world rankings, while their two opponents are placed at 97th (Vietnam) and 159th (Singapore), respectively.

Having qualified for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup two months back, India will be looking to prepare for the showpiece continental tournament next year.

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"We are happy about the upcoming challenges, and we're looking forward to maintaining the quality of performances that we have recently dished out," India head coach Igor Stimac said.

The coach said efforts are being made to organise a preparatory camp and he is hopeful to have a practice match against Kerala Blasters ahead of their departure to Vietnam.