Soon, the domestic club scene will see it's conclusion. The 2017/18 I-League is already done and dusted, Minerva Punjab scripting a great story of triumph. We are into the semifinals of the Indian Super League with the final scheduled for March 17th. The inaugural Super Cup will also be done by the time May comes around.
For the players, it's about international duty after that. It's a World Cup year which means if your nation is participating at the World Cup, you have a busy June-July. For the others, it is a period of inactivity. India's footballers, looking to build on their 2017 campaign, will look to push on in 2018. And India's coach Stephen Constantine has released the tentative international calendar for the side in 2018 with a very clear message - "The door is open to any Indian player who is willing to do the work, the job we need him to, in the National Team."
March 27th
AFC Asian Cup Qualification vs Kyrgyzstan (Away)
June 1st to 12th
Intercontinental Cup (India)
August 18th to September 21st
Indonesian Asian Games [U23s] (Indonesia)
September 2nd to 11th
SAFF Cup (Bangladesh)
October 8th to 16th
International friendlies (To be decided)
November 12th to 20th
International friendlies (To be decided)
Asia Cup Qualifier
First up on the itinerary for the Blue Tigers is a tough fixture away in Kyrgyzstan in a qualifier for the 2019 Asian Cup in what will be their final qualifier. There is some recency when it comes to this particular opposition, India having played them last year in Bangalore. It was a 1-0 win to the home side on that occasion with captain Sunil Chhetri scoring the decisive goal. The bonus here is that India have already clinched qualification to the next phase and as such have nothing to lose. That's why Constantine has opted to leave out a lot of regulars including Chhetri who is suspended for this fixture. The likes of Seimenlen Doungel and Vishal Kaith who shone in this season's ISL are in consideration.
Intercontinental Cup
There isn't much known about this tournament. All we know as of now is that it's a tournament planned by the AIFF, which will supposedly involve teams from all continents. Considering it is scheduled for the period just before the World Cup, you can predict to an extent which teams will be involved. But that's it for now as details remain murky.
Asian Games
The seniors then get a break as Constantine's attention will turn to the Asian Games in Indonesia. The national Under-23 side will be travelling to these games where they will be up against a lot of the regional superpowers. Last time around at the 2014 edition in Incheon, South Korea, the team failed to get out of the group phase. In fact, they have managed it only once, in 2010 at Guangzhou. There are some talented youngsters such as Lallianzuala Chhangte who will be a part of this squad, so it will interesting to see if India can progress into the last 16.
SAFF Cup
This is the big event of the year as India will be defending their crown in Bangladesh. Everyone surely remembers the dramatic final from three years ago when India defeated Afghanistan in extra time to emerge victorious in front of their home fans. That was India's 7th SAFF title. With Afghanistan not playing, Bhutan and the Maldives can be expected to offer the most competition.
Friendlies
Post the SAFF Cup, it's mostly friendlies for the national side. Despite nothing being scheduled as of yet, October and November will see the team busy in just friendlies. There's also the small matter of what will happen domestically viz. the I-League and ISL next year which the AIFF is yet to clarify. So, expect it to be a busy period.
