India expect to reclaim Intercontinental Cup

It is an important year for India, who qualified for next January's Asian Cup 2023. And come Friday, the Igor Stimac-coached side will kick off their Intercontinental Cup campaign against Mongolia at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar - only the first of nine matches that they could potentially play in a span of 25 days, culminating in the end of SAFF Championships in Bengaluru.
While the hosts will be up against three opponents in Mongolia, Vanuatu and Lebanon, Stimac looked confident of a successful campaign in the third edition of the tournament in Odisha, especially after their triumph at the Tri-Nation Tournament in Imphal earlier this year.
"We're expecting to win the tournament, and that's why we're here. We'll do everything possible to make that happen," Stimac said at the pre-match press interaction on Thursday.
"Playing at home will be a big advantage for us. I hope to see a large number of supporters cheering for us. We saw in Manipur that when we're surrounded by passionate fans who shower us with love, they can help us beat better-ranked teams."
While the only team in the competition - the opening edition of which was won by India by beating Kenya in 2018 - ranked higher than the 101st-ranked India are Lebanon (99th), Mongolia will be lowest-ranked opposition for the hosts at 183rd position.
With India set to face the likes of Australia, Syria and Uzbekistan in Asian Cup, and at least seven first-team players missing from the 25-man current India squad due to injuries, Croat Stimac believes that the upcoming tournaments will not serve as the final preparation for the continental event.
"To clarify, we cannot say that this tournament is proper preparation for Asian Cup. Because it really isn't," he said while also adding earlier, "I'll try to use these upcoming games in the best way to prepare for Asian Cup. These games will serve as a challenge for our players to prove their ability at the international level, even though the opponents are not the ones we'll face in Asian Cup.
"But they're good and competitive."
Their Asian rivals on Friday, although ranked much lower, have showcased improved performances in the last few years and gave a 77th-ranked Georgia a tough fight in the first half in the last friendly they played and Stimac was in no mood to take them lightly.
"Mongolia are a very aggressive side with a lot of young players in midfield and upfront. They play high press and counter-attacking football. Even though they may find it difficult to adapt to the warm weather here, their players are arriving in competitive form as the Mongolian league is going on at the moment," he said.
While the heat in Odisha may pose a hurdle for the Mongolian players, there is also no dearth in motivation for the visitors who will be devoid of the pressure and expectations on the Sunil Chhetri-led Indians. And their Japanese coach Ichiro Otsuka reiterated the same ahead of their opening game.
"All the other three teams are ranked higher than us. But we will fight and try to have better games against them. We're very motivated to showcase our football here," Otsuko said at Thursday's media interaction.
Meanwhile, in the campaign opener on Friday afternoon, Lebanon will take on the 164th-ranked Vanuatu at Kalinga Stadium.