The Indian football team will be kicking off their SAFF Championship 2023 campaign with a match against arch-rivals Pakistan tomorrow.
The match between India and Pakistan will played at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. India will be hosting the tournament this time.
And they will be aiming to defend their championship as well. India will head into the competition having won the Intercontinental Cup.
The Igor Stimac-coached side lifted the trophy without conceding a single defeat in that competition.
In the final, India defeated Lebanon to conquer the Intercontinental Cup.
Both Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championship are two crucial tournaments for India, ahead of the Asian Cup, scheduled to be played next year.
In the SAFF Championship, the Indian football team has placed in Group A along with Kuwait, Nepal and Pakistan.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Lebanon and Maldives have pooled in Group B.
Pakistan, on the other hand, recently took part in the Mauritius Four Nations Cup.
Having played three matches in the competition, the Pakistan football team failed to register a single win.