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The Indian football team and the Macau football team will square off today in a much-awaited AFC Asian Cup 2019 qualifier. With a win tonight in an away game at the Macau Olympic Complex, India can become the sure shot favourites to reach the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in UAE by topping their group. Though the Men in Blue will arrive with a 100 percent record in the group stages, they cannot be complacent against a Macau side which can deliver a few surprises for Stephen Constantine and his men.
India are currently at the top of their group with two wins out of two against Myanmar and the Kyrgyz Republic whereas Macau are at the bottom of the pile with the small footballing nation ending up on the losing side on both the occasions. Ahead of today's all-important clash let's learn five things about Macau - a small island on the South coast of China or which is known as the "Las Vegas of Asia" -
#1 Macau are the lowest placed side in their qualifying group. They are ranked 183rd in the world, 86 places below India. Macau qualified for this group after reaching the finals of the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup.
#2 Macau have played just three matches this year and have lost all three. Both of their previous AFC Asian Cup qualifying matches ended in defeats (0 goals scored, 5 conceded) whereas the island nation lost 4-0 against Hong Kong in a friendly last week. Macau's last outright win came in November last year when they beat Laos 4-1 in the Solidarity Cup.
#3 This will be the first time when Macau and India will face off in a senior international game. But the two nations had met once in the AFC U-16 Championship in Bangkok in the year 1984. India won that game 13-0 with two of their players registering a hat trick and a total of eight players getting on the score sheet.
#4 Macau national football team is managed by Chan Hiu Ming. He has managed just one game in the past and is a new entity with the national setup. The 42-year-old took over the reigns in July and has previously managed several teams in his homeland of Hong Kong.
#5 Macau's hopes rest on the shoulders of Leong Ka Hang, the 24-year-old pacy striker. Hang plays in the Hong Kong first division and was judged the Most Valuable Player in the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup. Along with the striker, the other two players who can pose a threat to India are forward Nikki Torrao and captain Paulo Cheang Leong. The captain is Macau's most capped player with 44 starts for the national team.
