India have been clubbed with hosts United Arab Emirates(UAE), Thailand and Bahrain in Group A of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. The official draw was held at the Armani Hotel Ballroom at the iconic Burj Khalifa in Dubai on Friday.
The top 24 teams from Asia were drawn into six groups of four teams each. All the teams play the other three teams in the group and top 2 will qualify for the round of 16 with the best four third-placed teams.
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri, Iranian legend Ali Daei, Legendary Chinese player Sun Jihai and Philippines’ star Philip James Younghusband picked the four respective pots as they helped AFC General Secretary Dato Windsor John to conduct the draw.
Indian national team coach Stephen Constantine and Team Manager Shanmugam Venkatesh were present on the occasion.
The prestigious Asian event will be held across eight stadiums in four cities in the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain from January 5 to February 1, 2019.
Speaking at the draw, Chhetri said, The AFC Asian Cup is an enormous opportunity for us and we are looking forward to it. Back home in India, everyone is excited and we have the blessings of all the people and we will do our best,” Chhetri said at the draw ceremony.
“The AFC Asian Cup gives us the opportunity to rub shoulders with the best of Asia and play against players who many of whom play in many a Premier League across Europe, and other parts of the world. It will be an eye-opener and even if it is a learning experience, we aim to be competitive and give our best on the pitch,” he later told.
“I was part of the National Team in 2011 in Doha where we last played in the Continental Championship. Qualifying to the Asian Cup for the second time in 8 years is great for Indian Football,” he added.
India’s best performance came in 1964, when they finished runner-up to Israel.
This will be India’s fourth qualification in the AFC Asian Cup, last time they qualified in 2011, which was held at Doha.
Digitalsporty’s prediction
UAE are the highest ranked team in the group A with FIFA ranking of 81 in the world. India on the other hand sits at the world rank of 97, and they have to play out of their skin to defeat UAE in front of their home support.
Bahrain are ranked 116 in the world and are not playing any magical spells in the recent times that can become a danger sign for India. Chhetri’s team is expected to win this encounter against the Western Asian country.
Thailand are ranked 122 in the world and have not registered a win in 2018 that doesn’t makes them a healthy competitor either for the Indian team.
Verdict: If India continues to play the way they are playing currently, they are expected to cross the first hurdle and book their place in the last 16 alongside UAE.
