The Indian men’s football team will take on 70th-ranked Iraq in the semi-final of the King’s Cup 2023 tournament on Thursday. The India vs Iraq match starts at 4:00 PM in India and will be live streamed.
The King’s Cup is Thailand’s annual international football tournament that has been running since 1968.
The 49th edition of the tournament will be conducted in a knockout format, between September 7 to 10. Hosts Thailand will take on world No. 100 Lebanon in the other semi-final. All the matches will be held at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The winners of the semi-finals will play the final on September 10. Meanwhile, the two losing semi-finalists will face each other in the third-place playoff.
The Indian men’s football team will make its fourth appearance in the King’s Cup. Back in 2019, when India last featured, they fell short against Curacao in the semi-final before beating Thailand 1-0 in the third-place playoff. The Blue Tigers also won bronze in 1977.
India last played Iraq, the highest-ranked team in this edition, in a friendly in 2010, suffering a 2-0 defeat.
Igor Stimac’s India’s last international appearance, meanwhile, was in the SAFF Championship final against Kuwait in July. India won 5-4 on penalties.
India, world No. 99 in the FIFA rankings, will be without the talismanic Sunil Chhetri, unavailable due to personal reasons. India’s next major football assignment will be the Asian Games in Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China, from September 23.
Where to watch King’s Cup 2023 live in India
Live streaming of the King’s Cup 2023 will be available on FIFA Plus TV. The football tournament will be telecast live on the Eurosport TV channel in India.
King’s Cup 2023 schedule and live match start times
All in Indian Standard Times (IST)
September 7, Thursday
Iraq vs India – 4:00 PM IST
Thailand vs Lebanon – 7:00 PM IST
September 10, Sunday
Third-place playoff – 4:00 PM IST
Final – 7:00 PM IST
