Picture courtesy: AFC Media

The Indian national football team will face off against Curacao in the opening match of the King's Cup on June 5. To recall, the Blue Tigers will be participating in the prestigious invitational four-nation tournament in Thailand from June. Apart from India and Curacao, hosts Thailand and Vietnam will be the other two participating teams.

The organisers, on Wednesday, revealed the official draw and dates for the 47th King's Cup. India will take on Curacao at 3:30 PM local time (2 PM IST) on June 5 in the opener, while Thailand will square off against Southeast Asian rivals Vietnam in the other match later in the day. The winners of the opening day's matches will go on to face each other in the final scheduled for June 8. The other two teams will play a third-place playoff match on the same day. The Chang Arena in Buriram will be the venue for all the matches.

The King's Cup will be Sunil Chhetri and Co.'s first international foray post their exit from the group stages of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 back in January. Curacao are the best-ranked (82nd in current FIFA Rankings) team participating in the tournament and will pose a tough test for India (currently ranked 101st). Thailand and Vietnam are currently placed at 114th and 98th in the rankings respectively.

The India team has been without a head coach since Stephen Constantine stepped down after the disappointing AFC Asian Cup campaign and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is expected to name the next boss later this month. If the appointment transpires, the King's Cup 2019 will be the new head coach's first official venture at the helm of the national team.

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2018-2019