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What's the story?
Indian international Pritam Kotal has issued a rallying cry ahead of India's AFC Asian Cup next year. The right-back agrees that India will face a difficult, although not impossible, task to qualify further from their group.
In case you didn't know...
India have been drawn alongside the host nation, United Arab Emirates, in Group A. Bahrain and Thailand will be the other two teams joining them in Group A. The Blue Tigers will play their opening match of the AFC Asian Cup against Thailand on 6th January 2019.
Heart of the matter
"It's a very good opportunity for us to gauge ourselves before the AFC Asian Cup. We must exploit this opportunity as much possible as we can. No matter what, we'll work harder to win this tournament," Kotal shares his opio
"I would say this healthy competition is a good headache for the players as well as the coach. It provides you with enough room for self-improvement. We are like a closely knit family. While we share a warm bonding amongst each other off-the-field, we push each other to our limits on-the-field to churn out our best," adds Kotal.
It is evident that India faces a tough task at hand, yet Kotal firmly believes that with the right motivation anything can be achieved.
"It's really a tricky and tough draw for us. Most of the players in the current lot are going to experience playing in such a massive tournament for the first time. It's a tough group but not an impossible one," he concluded.
What's next?
United Arab Emirates will be hosting the AFC Asian Cup in 2019. India will begin their campaign against Thailand, before taking on host nation UAE. Finally, the Blue Tigers will play their last Group stage match against Bahrain. Top two teams from the group will move automatically to the knockout stages while the best third-placed teams also have a chance to qualify.
Meanwhile, India gears up for the Intercontinental Cup 2018, which is a four-team tournament to be held in Mumbai. Chinese Taipei, Kenya, and New Zealand will be the other 3 teams alongside India. The event kicks off on 1st June with India going head-to-head with Chinese Taipei.
Author's take
India had to make it through several qualifying rounds in order to progress to the final AFC Asian Cup tournament. In the process, India faced several strong nations and managed to get some decent results. Football fans in the subcontinent will hope India continue their strong form as they look to play in the AFC Asian Cup for just the fourth time in their history. Competing in tournaments such as the Intercontinental Cup 2018 will also do them a lot of good, giving them the much-needed game time.
