The Indian football team will lock horns with Curacao in their opener of the Kings Cup that will take place during June. The Football Association of Thailand announced the draws on Wednesday where the hosts have been pitted against Vietnam in the other game.
The two matches will be held on June 5, the winners of which qualify for the final - set to take place of June 8. Meanwhile, the losing teams would be playing for the third playoff spot, set to take place just before the finals.
As per April 2019 Fifa rankings, India are ranked 101, with Thailand at 114, Vietnam at 98 and Curacao at 82.
This is the first time in 18 years that the Blue Tigers will be playing in a Fifa ranking tournament, the last being the Merdeka Tournament in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.
The King’s Cup is a Fifa-sanctioned international ‘A’ tournament being organised by the Football Association of Thailand since 1968. India’s previous participation in the King’s Cup was in 1977.
The tournament will be the first major assignment for India following their exit from the group stages of the AFC Asian Cup in January. The national team is currently without a coach after Stephen Constantine’s resignation and the All India Football Federation is expected to announce his replacement in the next few days.
The 2018 edition of the King’s Cup was won by Slovakia when they beat Thailand 3-2 in a thriller in the final, while Gabon beat UAE 1-0 to clinch the 3rd place.
(with PTI inputs)
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