Kings Cup Bangkok: The Indian senior men's team have been drawn against Iraq in the semi-final of the 49th King's Cup 2023 after the draw ceremony was conducted by the Football Association of Thailand on Wednesday.
The match will take place at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai, Thailand on September 7.
Thailand will take on Lebanon in the other semi-final later on the same day.
The winners of the 49th King's Cup 2023 semi-finals will contest the final on September 10.
The losers will meet in the third-place play-off, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sources said.
As per the draw mechanics, Iraq (as the highest FIFA-ranked team - 70th) and Thailand (as hosts and ranked 113th) were placed in separate match-ups, and drawn against the remaining two teams - India, ranked 99th, and Lebanon, ranked 100th.
India's last meeting with Iraq was a 0-2 defeat in a friendly in Baghdad in 2010.
It will be India's fourth participation in the King's Cup in Thailand, with the most recent one coming in 2019, where the Blue Tigers went down to Curaçao in the semi-final before beating hosts Thailand 1-0 for the bronze medal.
India also won bronze in their first appearance in the tournament in 1977, defeating the likes of South Korea, Singapore and Indonesia. In 1981, India were eliminated in the group stage.
49th King's Cup 2023 Draw Result:
Iraq vs India (16:00 IST, September 7, 2023)
Thailand vs Lebanon (19:00 IST, September 7, 2023)
Third-place play-off (16:00 IST, September 10, 2023)
Final (19:00 IST, September 10, 2023)
All matches will take place at the 700th Anniversary Stadium in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
(With UNI inputs)
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