"The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) executive committee on Monday confirmed that the Qatar Football Association (QFA) is the host association for the AFC Asian Cup 2023," AFC said in a statement.
The decision to extend the contract was recommended by the AIFF's Technical Committee last month, and was subsequently ratified by the Executive Committee in their respective meetings in Kolkata last month
India, who rested experienced central defender Sandesh Jhingan, went into an arrear in the 37th minute but came back strongly within six minutes to level the score through Ashique Kuruniyan.
Now the assistant coach of the National Team, Gawali, 42, felt truly nostalgic on the eve of leaving for Vietnam to play the Hung Thinh Friendly Football Tournament from September 24-27, where India will take on Singapore and Vietnam.
The Blue Tigers will travel to Vietnam on September 22, 2022, and subsequently play Singapore on September 24, and the hosts on September 27, before making the return journey back to India on September 28
The increase in the number of matches will also provide youngsters a pathway into the national team in time for the AFC Asian Cup, the former Hyderabad FC head coach feels.
Winger Ashique Kuruniyan believes the extended nine-month Indian football calendar from 2022-23 onwards will be useful for players aiming to feature in the Asian Cup.
India had already booked a spot in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Group Stages by virtue of Palestine's 4-0 win over the Philippines but a win was a must for Igor Stimac and co. to end the qualification campaign on a positive note. Anwar Ali's early goal set the tone for his team as they thrashed Ho