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With the AIFF confirming the FIFA International window fixtures, India will be hosting the 2024 Intercontinental Cup in Hyderabad in September before taking part in the Tri-Nation Tournament, which is scheduled to be held in Vietnam in October. Syria, who are ranked 93rd in the latest FIFA rankings, and Mauritius, who are placed 179th, will be joining the hosts at the Intercontinental Cup.
Meanwhile, the Tri-Nation Tournament will feature the 116th-ranked Lebanon apart from hosts Vietnam and the Blue Tigers, who are currently at the 115th and 124th spots, respectively. It will be the first two assignments for the newly appointed Men's Football Team head coach Manolo Marquez, who was roped in recently to replace Igor Stimac.
India haven't had a memorable 2024 so far
The Indian football team hasn't had a great year so far. From failing to score a goal or bag a solitary point at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar to losing the golden opportunity of creating history by reaching the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC Asian Qualifiers, they failed to live up to the expectations in the last few months of Igor Stimac's tenure.
This has forced the AIFF to bring in the immensely experienced Manolo Marquez at the helm. A familiar name across the Indian football fraternity, the 55-year-old will continue donning his current role as the head coach of FC Goa apart from managing the national team until the end of the 2024-25 season. After that, the Spaniard will take charge as the national team's full-time head coach.
The upcoming Intercontinental Cup will be the fourth edition of the tournament whose inaugural edition was played in 2018 when Mumbai hosted it. The hosts won in 2018, defeating Kenya by a 2-0 margin at the Mumbai Football Arena, while North Korea claimed glory a year later having overcome the Tajikistan challenge in the title decider in Ahmedabad.
India are the defending champions having won the latest edition in 2023 by getting the better of Lebanon 2-0 in the final at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
