India men’s football team© X (Twitter)
Winless in three matches after chief coach Manolo Marquez took charge as head coach, the Indian men’s football team will play Malaysia in an international friendly in Hyderabad on November 18, national federation (AIFF) said on Wednesday. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) had last month announced that the match will be played on November 19 but did specify the venue. On Wednesday, it advanced the match by a day and also announced the venue. “The FIFA Friendly match between India and Malaysia will be played on November 18, 2024, at Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana,” the AIFF said.
November 11-19 is the last FIFA international match window of this year. In international matches scheduled during a FIFA window, clubs are mandated to release players for national duty.
The Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad had also hosted the three-team Intercontinental Cup tournament last month. India had played out a goal-less draw with Mauritius on September 3 before losing 0-3 to Syria, the eventual champions, on September 9 in that tournament.
India then travelled to Vietnam to play an international friendly against the hosts on October 12. The match ended 1-1.
The November 18 match will be Marquez’s fourth match in charge of the national team and he would be looking for a win against a lower-ranked team, though it will not be an easy one. Malaysia are ranked 133rd in the FIFA chart while India are at 125th.
The last time the two teams met was in October 2023 in the Merdeka Cup semifinal. India had lost 2-4.
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