AIFF announced that the senior Indian men's football team will play two international friendlies against Bahrain and Belarus on March 23, and March 26, 2022, respectively.

The matches will take place in Manama, Bahrain, and are part of preparation of the squad’s campaign within the AFC Asian Cup 2023 third round qualifiers, scheduled to be held in June 2022.

Head Coach Igor Stimac was pleased with the scheduling of these two matches ahead of the qualifiers. “Given the present circumstances, it was extraordinarily troublesome to search out the form of opponents we had been on the lookout for. However, I’m very blissful that we’ve got the 2 matches on our schedule,” he stated.

“We are doing our best to prepare well for the upcoming final qualifying round of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023, and these two matches will immensely facilitate our preparatory process,” he added.

“Both Bahrain and Belarus are ranked higher than us, and if all goes well with the Hero ISL season with our boys putting in good performances, and playing competitive games we should be ready,” the coach said.

Bahrain is positioned 91 within the FIFA Rankings, whereas Belarus is 94. India’s present FIFA Rating is 104.

The last encounter India had against any UEFA member association was Azerbaijan that was more than a decade ago in February 2012, a match in which the rivals won 3-0.