Indian football team to play international friendlies against Bahrain, Belarus

Indian senior men's national football team will play two international friendlies against Bahrain and Belarus on March 23 and 26 respectively, the sport's apex body announced on Friday. Both the matches will be played in Manama, Bahrain. The matches are part of the preparation for the national team campaign in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup third round qualifiers, which is scheduled to be held in June.

"Given the current circumstances, it was extremely difficult to find the kind of opponents we were looking for. But I am very happy that we have the two matches on our schedule," head coach Igor Stimac said. "We are doing our best to prepare well for the upcoming final qualifying round of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, and these two matches will immensely facilitate our preparatory process," he added.

"Both Bahrain and Belarus are ranked higher than us, and if all goes well with the Hero ISL season with our boys putting in good performances, and playing competitive games we should be ready," the coach said. Bahrain are placed at 91 in the FIFA rankings, while Belarus are on 94. India's current ranking is 104.

The last time India played any UEFA member association was more than a decade ago in February 2012 against Azerbaijan, a match which the rivals won 3-0. "Playing against better teams is the best way to improve our own game, as that allows the boys the chance to mature playing against, and with better speed. "Our youngsters need more exposure and time to play, and practice.