For the first time, the Indian Senior National Team will visit China to play International friendly against the hosts on 13 October.
Representational Image (Photo: Getty Images)
For the first time, the Indian Senior National Team will visit China to play International friendly against the hosts on 13 October.
The visit is a part of their preparation for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. The two nations have till now faced 17 times, all on Indian soil ~ the last being 21 years ago for the Nehru Cup in Kochi in 1997.
The match which will be held in the scheduled FIFA October window will be played at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium at Suzhou City, Jiangsu province.
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Interestingly, India are yet to win a match against China. Off the past 17 matches, 12 have gone in favour of China while rest 5 were drawn.
However, the Indian team has been on an upsurge over the last couple of years, maintaining an unbeaten run of 12 official matches for a span which extended from June 2016 to November 2017.
According to All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das the Federation is looking forward to a “long bilateral footballing relationship with China.”
“Globally India and China are now being looked up to as two of the fastest emerging football markets. The match will usher in a new era in Asian football as this is the first-time ever that the Indian team will be travelling to play in China. We look forward to a long term bilateral footballing relationship with China in near future,” he said.
India are currently ranked 97 in the September FIFA Rankings while China are at 76.
The October International Friendly assumes huge importance as it will set the pace for India’s preparatory process for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup in UAE.
National Coach Stephen Constantine stated “this are the kind of games we need.” adding “China are a strong team and the match will be a tough test for us. But we need to play these sort of game right now. Getting to play under pressure is important and an away fixture in China is exactly the kind of game we need,” he quipped.
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