The Indian national football team is participating in the football tournament, the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, starting on January 12. The team was placed in Group B alongside Australia, Syria and Uzbekistan.
This will be the first time India will qualify for the consecutive edition of the Asian Games. The team, led by Sunil Chhetri, who is playing in his third Asian Cup, is looking to qualify for the knockout stages after a heartbreaking 2019 campaign.
The Indian team will begin their campaign on January 13 with a match against Australia. This is the fifth time the Indian team has qualified for this continental tournament. The first time was during the 1964 Asia Cup, and the last time was during the previous edition of the 2019 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Bridge takes a look at the Indian team’s past performances in the second-oldest continental football tournament:
1964 AFC Asian Cup, Israel
In the third edition of the Asia Cup in 1964 in Israel, the Indian national team led by Mohun Bagan and football legend Chuni Goswami, made their debut. Competing in
1984 AFC Asian Cup, Singapore
In the 1984 Asia Cup in Singapore, the Indian team made a comeback after 20 years, qualifying for the 10-team tournament by finishing second in Group 3 of qualifying against Malaysia, Pakistan and North Yemen.
2011 AFC Asian Cup, Qatar
In 2011, after a wait of 27 years, the Indian football team qualified for the Asian Championship in Qatar. Securing their place by winning the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, with Sunil Chhetri becoming the top scorer with four goals. The team led by Baichung Bhutia and goalkeeper Subrata Pal participated in the 10-team competition. six.
2019 AFC Asian Cup, United Arab Emirates
In the 2019 Asian Championship in UAE, the Indian football team. Led by captain Sunil Chhetri and players like Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan. And Jeje Lalpekhlua, participated in the expanded 24-team tournament after dominating the third qualifying round. There are 13 points in six games.
