History
India are participating in the King’s Cup for the fourth time. Their first participation came in 1977 when they won the bronze medal. Defeating the likes of Singapore, Indonesia and even South Korea. Their last participation came in 2019 with Igor Stimac managing his first tournament as manager of the Indian Senior Men's team. The Blue Tigers won the bronze once again beating hosts Thailand in the third-place playoff.
Form
Stimac’s men are in sensational form going into the King's Cup. They have not lost a single game this year, winning all of the competitions - Tri-nation Cup, Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship so far. All played on home soil. India scored 16 times in that period and conceded just twice with nine clean sheets in 11 matches.
India Squad for King's Cup 2023
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Gurmeet Singh
Defenders: Asish Rai, Nikhil Poojary, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra
Midfielders: Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Brandon Fernandes, Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Ashique Kuruniyan, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Lallianzuala Chhangte
Forwards: Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Rahul KP
Head Coach: Igor Stimac
Amrinder Singh and Subhasish Bose were initially called to the 23 member squad but they will not travel for the tournament. Captain Sunil Chhetri will not be part of the roster after he is expecting his first child. The 39-year-old confirmed the news of going to be a father with scoring a decisive goal against Vanuatu in the Intercontinental Cup two months ago. The record goal-scorer for his country also missed out the last edition of the tournament but is expected to be back for the Merdeka Cup in October. Dheeraj Singh, Roshan Singh, Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Glan Martins, Apuia Ralte, Ishan Pandita and Liston Colaco have not made the cut. Lalchungnunga has made the squad despite not being on the probable list. Asish Rai and Rahul KP have returned to the national team as well.
King's Cup Fixtures
Thursday, 7 September 2023
Iraq vs India (16:00)
Thailand vs Lebanon (19:00)
Sunday, 10 September 2023
Third-place play-off (16:00)
Final (19:00)
Iraq will be the opposition whom India has not defeated in six meetings so far. Their only points in this fixture came in the Nehru Cup in 1995 and 1997. Both of them finished in a 1-1 draw although India lost through penalties in the semifinals of the latter one. Those were the only times India managed to score too with the last meeting in 2010 ending in a 2-0 defeat. The Blue Tigers have recently beaten hosts Thailand and Lebanon, two other teams in the King’s Cup. Hence, if they are to progress against the nation with the highest FIFA ranking in the contest they could think of winning the Cup for the first time.
