India to play Mongolia in Intercontinental Cup 2023 opener

India to play Mongolia in Intercontinental Cup 2023 opener (Image Source: Google)

India will take on Mongolia on the opening day of the Intercontinental Cup, which kicks off at the Kalinga Stadium on June 9.

The other two teams in the competition, Lebanon and Vanuatu, will also face each other on the opening day of the tournament.

The tournament is part of India's preparations for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. Immediately after the Intercontinental Cup, India will play the SAFF Championship 2023, to be held in Bengaluru from June 21–July 3, 2023.

The national team, under head coach Igor Stimac, will be camping in Bhubaneswar to prepare for the tournament from next week onward, May 15, 2023.

This will be the third edition of the Intercontinental Cup, with the previous two being held in Mumbai (2018) and Ahmedabad (2019). All four teams will play against each other once before the top two teams compete in the final slated to be held on June 18, 2023.

The Indian men's national team had previously never played against Mongolia and Vanuatu. Against Lebanon, the hosts hold a record of playing six matches.

Lebanon is the highest-ranked country in the tournament and are placed just two places above India in the FIFA rankings with Vanuatu and Mongolia being the two lower-ranked teams.

Fixtures:

June 9: Lebanon vs Vanuatu

June 9: India vs Mongolia

June 12: Mongolia vs Lebanon

June 12: Vanuatu vs India

June 15: Vanuatu vs Mongolia

June 15: India vs Lebanon

June 18: Final