The Blue Tigers are in pole position to qualify for the continental tournament as they are considered the ‘favourites’ in Group D, also consisting of Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
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India will host Cambodia in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup third round qualifier at Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday. The Blue Tigers are in pole position to qualify for the continental tournament as they are considered the ‘favourites’ in Group D, also consisting of Afghanistan and Hong Kong. It will be Igor Stimac’s side’s first game held in India in nearly three years, the first since their 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in October 2019. The Blue Tigers are heading into the tie on the back of a 2-0 loss to Jordan in an international friendly while Cambodia beat Timor Leste 2-1 last time out. Angkar Warriors might be ranked 171 in the FIFA World Rankings, but there are no pushovers at this level.
1️⃣ day to go and preparations are in full swing ?#BackTheBlue ? #BlueTigers ? #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/HRNGOI4znX
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 7, 2022
Stimc’s side aren’t in great form having lost their last three games. In their previous game against Jordan, in Doha, the Blue Tigers looked out of ideas for a major part of the 90 minutes. The Chivalrous broke the deadlock in the 75th minute through Abu Amarah, before Abu Zrayq’s injury-time strike sealed the win. Prior to the Jordan loss, India had lost two friendlies against Bahrain and Belarus in March. The Blue Tigers have managed to score only once in their last three matches and it was through Rahul Bheke’s header in the 2-1 loss to Bahrain. After the 2021 SAFF Cup triumph in Nepal, Stimac wanted his side to test themselves against higher ranked opponents and although the results weren’t great, the team has certainly become stronger after each game. India would be aiming to qualify for their second successive Asian Cup finals and for them to take control of the group, a win is an absolute necessity.
Cambodia, on the other hand, have qualified for the Asian Cup finals only once in their 60+ year-long history. That itself was 50 years ago back in the 1972 edition. Earlier this month, the Angkar Warriors got the better of Timor-Leste courtesy of goals from Sokpheng Keo and Choun chanchav. Ryu Hirose’ side are also not in very good form having lost three of their last five matches. The three losses came in the group stage of the 2021 AFF Championship. Cambodia has played 18 matches in the past three years, winning 11 of them, while losing two and five ended in draws. Most of the victories have come against lower ranked opponents. In these 18 games, they have scored 16 goals and have conceded a whopping 59 goals. Their biggest loss came against Iran when they were defeated 14–0.
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India will have a couple of absentees for the Cambodia match. Defender Rahul Bheke is out of the first match, while midfielder Ritwik Das contracted Chicken pox and has been replaced with Deepak Tangri in the sqad. Meanwhile Mumbai City FC player Lalenmawia, who played a crucial role in India’s SAFF Cup triumph will play no part in the qualifiers because of injury. ATK Mohun Bagan forward Liston Colaco is struggling with a slight injury but is expected to be fit for the match.
Stimac is likely to deploy an attack-minded 4-3-3 formation, with talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri leading the line. Sandesh Jhingan will marshall the back-four that will have Pritam Kotal, Anwar Ali and Akash Mishra. Glan Martins, Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad are expected to form the midfield trio. Chhetri will have Liston and Manvir Singh in support. If Liston fails to make it, Ashique Kuruniyan will come in at the left flank.
Cambodia have traveled with a 23-man squad for the upcoming Asian cup qualifiers. The Angkor Warriors are likely to play with a 4-3-3 formation with defender Visal Soeuy captaining the side. Last game’s goal-scorer Keo and attacking midfielder Sos Suhana, who has over 60 international caps to his name, will play alongside striker Sieng Chanthea. With nothing to lose, Cambodia could take the fight to India.
India probable starting lineup: Sandhu; Mishra, Jhingan, Anwar, Kotal; Martins, Thapa, Sahal; Liston, Chhetri, Manvir.
Cambodia Probable starting Lineup: Soksela; Kok, Sambath, Soeuy, Chansopheak; Bin, Chanpolin, Noron; Keo, Suhana, Chanthea.
The 2023 AFC Asian Cup third round qualifiers between India and Cambodia will take place at the Salt Lake Stadium and it will kickoff at 8:30 pm IST on June 8, Wednesday.
For the football fans in India, live streaming of the match is available on Disney+Hotstar VIP/JioTV apps and TV viewers can watch it on Star Sports network.
