Friday , March 29 2024

2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers: India to face Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar & Macau!

The remaining 24 teams vying for a spot at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup to be played in the UAE discovered their opponents for the final round of qualifying at an official draw for the competition’s latest stage on Monday.

Draw Result
Group A: A1 Kyrgyz Republic A2 India A3 Myanmar A4 Macau
Group B: B1 DPR Korea B2 Hong Kong B3 Lebanon B4 Malaysia
Group C: C1 Jordan C2 Vietnam C3 Afghanistan C4 Cambodia
Group D: D1 Oman D2 Palestine D3 Maldives D4 Bhutan
Group E: E1 Bahrain E2 Turkmenistan E3 Chinese Taipei E4 Singapore
Group F: F1 Philippines F2 Tajikistan F3 Yemen F4 Nepal

The winners and runners-up from each group – a total of 12 teams – will qualify for the final competition of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

India were clubbed in Group A with Kyrgyz Republic, Myanmar and Macau with India beginning their campaign in an away match against Myanmar on March 28, 2017.

National Coach Stephen Constantine who attended the ceremony as an invitee said “though there are no easy games for us, the target is to win our home games and qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup.”

“We are delighted to be in the draw. We believe that the qualifying campaign was a good lesson for us as it gave us the opportunity to introduce some new players who by now have that little bit of experience of playing International Football,” he said from Abu Dhabi. “We need to work extremely hard to keep alive our hopes of qualifying.”

Constantine who is keeping a close watch on the I-League proceedings felt there are “ample opportunities for players to make their case for the National Team.”

“Not that the I-League has begun, any player can make his claim for a call to the camp with his performance. We will be selecting 30 players for the camp in March and previous records are not a guarantee for an automatic all up to the camp,” he stated.

Senior Goalkeeper and Arjuna Awardee Subrata Paul, one of India’s outstanding performers in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Doha felt it would be “huge” if India qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

“If we can make it to UAE, we will be playing our second Asian Cup in eight years,” Paul, who was nicknamed “Spiderman’ for his exploits in the 2011 Asian Cup said.

“The Asian Cup is the biggest Continental Championship like the Euro or the Copa America. I have fond memories of the 2011 Asian Cup. In fact, not just me but the entire squad will carry the memories with us,” he opined.

“The graph is moving upwards and the ranking coming down to 129 from 171 in less than two years is ample proof of that. To sustain the momentum, it’s essential we make the cut to UAE. The Team is improving with every day. We will try our best,” he declared.

INDIA’S MATCHES

March 28, 2017: vs Myanmar (Away)

June 13, 2017: vs Kyrgyz Republic (at Home)

September 5, 2017: vs Macau (Away)

October 10, 2017: vs Macau (at Home)

November 14, 2017: vs Myanmar (at Home)

March 27, 2018: vs Kyrgyz Republic (Away)

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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