BELOW - IFA CFL PREMIER-A 2021-22 FIXTURE RELEASED BY IFA

TOKYO OLYMPIC 2020 FOOTBALL MATCH FIXTURE WITH INDIAN TIME
Group A: Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France
Group B: New Zealand, Korea Republic, Honduras, Romania
Group C: Egypt, Spain, Argentina, Australia
Group D: Brazil, Germany, Côte d'Ivoire, Saudi Arabia

Thursday, 22 July 2021
Egypt vs Spain - 1:00 PM IST
New Zealand vs South Korea - 1:30 PM
Mexico vs France - 1:30 PM IST
Ivory Coast vs Saudi Arabia - 2:00 PM IST
Argentina vs Australia - 4:00 PM IST
Japan vs South Africa - 4:30 PM IST
Honduras vs Romania - 4:30 PM IST
Brazil vs Germany - 5:00 PM IST

Sunday, 25 July 2021
Egypt vs Argentina - 1:00 PM IST
New Zealand vs Honduras - 1:30 PM IST
France vs South Africa - 1:30 PM IST
Brazil vs Ivory Coast - 2:00 PM IST
Australia vs Spain - 4:00 PM IST
Japan vs Mexico - 4:30 PM IST
Romania vs South Korea - 4:30 PM IST
Saudi Arabia vs Germany - 5:00 PM IST

Wednesday, 28 July 2021
Saudi Arabia vs Brazil - 1:30 PM IST
Germany vs Ivory Coast - 1:30 PM IST
Romania vs New Zealand - 2:00 PM IST
South Korea vs Honduras - 2:00 PM IST
Australia vs Egypt - 4:30 PM IST
Germany vs Ivory Coast - 2:00 PM IST
Australia vs Egypt - 4:30 PM IST
Spain vs Argentina - 4:30 PM IST
South Africa vs Mexico - 5:00 PM IST
France vs Japan - 5:00 PM IST

Saturday, 31 July 2021
Quarter-final 1 : 1:30 PM IST
Quarter-final 2 : 2:30 PM IST
Quarter-final 3 : 3:30 PM IST
Quarter-final 4 : 4:30 PM IST

Tuesday, 3 August 2021
Semi-final 1 : 1:30 PM IST
Semi-final 2 : 4:30 PM IST

Tuesday, 6 August 2021
Bronze medal match : 4:30 PM IST

Tuesday, 7 August 2021
Gold medal match : 5 PM IST

I LEAGUE TO BE HELD IN KOLKATA IN DECEMBER

26.6.21: The 2021-22 edition of Hero I League will be held in Kolkata. This was finalised by the executive committee of All India Football Fedaration in a virtual meeting. The tournament is likely to start from the middle od December.

The meeting was chaired by Subrata Dutta, Senior Vice President, All India Football Federation, and Chairman, League Committee. The other members present in the virtual meeting was AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das and League CEO Mr. Sunando Dhar, Mr. Souter Vaz, Mr. Lalnghinglova Hmar, Mr. Anil Kumar, Mr. Chirag Tanna and Mr. Rochak Langer.

While addressing Subrata Dutta said, “Under the current situation it is pertinent for all stakeholders including the players to stay fit not just physically, but also stay mentally fit. Last year we organised a number of events very successfully, and this year we would really like to organise more, the pandemic situation permitting."

This year 13 teams will partcipate in the competetion. The format of the League will be the same as the last edition with all teams playing each other once, and then divided into two groups. While the top half vying for the Championship will comprise 7 teams, the bottom half which will be battling it out for the relegation will have 6 teams. The number of matches will also be more this edition – a rise from 80 to 114.

AIFF has decided to vaccinate all who will be included in the tournament. Sunanda Dhar, the CEO of I League said, “We are also making it mandatory for all players, officials, and all operational and administrative staff across all Leagues and championships to get themselves fully vaccinated prior to the kick-off. However, we do understand that there will be players less than 18 years of age who may be participating, along with players/officials who are recovering from Covid and may not have got a chance to vaccinate themselves. In that case, all of them would be subjected to more RTPCR tests than the others,”

AIFF are in discussion with Indian Football Association (West Bengal), and also the Government of West Bengal to successfully organise the League in Kolkata and its suburbs like the last edition.

WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

QATAR WORLD CUP:TWELVE TEAMS FROM ASIA WILL FIGHT FOR THE NEXT ROUND

20.6.21: After the 2nd round qualifying stages of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, twelve teams has reached in the next round. The champions teams of different Groups Syria (A), Australia (B), IR Iran (C), Saudi Arabia (D), Japan (F), United Arab Emirates (G) and Korea Republic (H) will be joining the five leading runners-up team China PR (A), Oman (E), Iraq (C), Vietnam (G) and Lebanon (H) and the host country Qatar have already qualified for the World Cup and will not participate in the next round of qualifying. though Qatar is the champion team from Group E.

The draw of the third round matches will be conducted on 1 July in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The third round matches are expected to play on September 2021, 7 September 2021, 7 October 2021, 12 October 2021, 11 November 2021, 16 November 2021, 27 January 2022, 1 February 2022, 24 March 2022 and 29 March 2022.

The 12 teams will be divided into two Groups with six teams in each Group. The matches will be played in a home-and-away, round robin format. The winners and runners-up in each group (four total) will qualify directly for the World Cup finals, while the third-placed teams will advance to the fourth round, where they will play to determine which team will advance to the intercontinental play-off.

15.06.2021: INDIA 1-1 AFGHANISTAN (Doha - FT..)
IND : Ovays Azizi 75'(OG)
AFG : HOSSEIN ZAMANI 81'

15.06.2021: INDIA 1-1 AFGHANISTAN (Doha - FT..)

IND: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Rahul Bheke, Subhasish Bose, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Glan Martins, Manvir Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Sunil Chhetri, Suresh Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan

AFG: Ovays Azizi, Masih Saighani, David Ahmed, Haroon Amiri, Noor Husin, Farshad Noor, Faysal Shayesteh, Milad Intezer, Amir Sharifi, Omid Popalzay, Mohammad Sharif

Referee: Ali Reda (Lebanon)
15.06.2021: INDIA 1-1 AFGHANISTAN (Doha - FT..)

FULL TIME India share points with Afghanistan means India qualifies to the AFC Asian Cup 3rd round qualifier .
90':4 minutes of added time.
89':Subhasish's cross, Manvir's header goes over the bar.
85':Apuia's long ranger from corner kick, went wide.
84':Bheke's shot deflected and went wide. Corner to India.
81':GOOOOAAAAALLLLL Afghanistan equalized through a fine curler, no chance to Gurpreet.
80':Substitution for India: Bipin Singh in place of Ashique
78':Ashique's long fine run and a minus but ball goes wide before that.
74':GOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLLL India leading through the own goal of keeper Azizi. Ashique's cross, easy to pick by Azizi put in inside the goal line.
15.06.2021: INDIA 1-1 AFGHANISTAN (Doha - FT..)

70':Good forward through to find Liston, Afghan keeper save the ball.
68':Substitution for India: Liston Colaco in place of Sunil Chhetri.
67':Sunil's free kick, just over the post.
66':Yellow Card to Amiri for his foul to Ashique. Free kick to India.
63':Substitution for India: Apuia in place of Brandon.
60':Brandon's free kick, Amiri's header went wide. Corner to India.
58':Afghanistan pressing hard, but cross went wide.
53':Manvir's cross cleared, corner to India.
47':Ashique with a quick counter attack, blocked in Afghan defence.
46':Second half resumed.
HALF TIME Score remains goalless between India vs Afghanistan.
45': 1 minutes of added time.
15.06.2021: INDIA 1-1 AFGHANISTAN (Doha - FT..)

44':Chance to Manvir, good block in Afghan defence.
41':Sharif's long ranger, straight to Gurpreet.
36':Subhasish cleared the ball from human wall in free kick.
34':Yellow Card to Chinglensana Singh. Free kick to Afghanistan.
31':Quick counter attack of Afghanistan after defence cleared India's corner kick, but Ashique cleared the move finally.
29':Rahul Bheke's cross, cleared and another corner to India.
24':Chance to Ashique, but his minus to find Sunil cleared in box.
23':Back to back two corner, Ashique's cross goes over the bar.
22':Brandon's cross, cleared and corner kick to India.
20':India pushing hard for a goal, have some positive moves but score remains goalless.
15':Referee shown yellow card to India's Head coach Igor Stimac.
11':Ball cleared from Afghanistan box from corner kick.
10':Chance to Sunil after Glan made a find pass, but his shot blocked by keeper. Another corner to India.
9':Sandesh's header from corner kick, cleared by Amiri.
8':Suresh's pass blocked. Another corner to India.
7': A draw will ensure India's qualification in AFC Asian Cup, whereas Afghanistan need to win the game to qualify.
2':Glan's shot from corner, blocked in defence.
1':Brandon's pass, Manvir's shot, cleared. Corner to India.
0':Kick off.
0': Hello and welcome to you all in the live update of the match between India and Afghanistan at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium , Doha. National anthems are playing, match is about to start.

INDIA AIMING FOR A POINT AGAINST AFGHANISTAN

14.6.21: India will play their last match in Group E against Afghanistan in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Preliminary Joint Round 2 Qualifiers at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, on Tuesday evening.

The chances to qualify in World Cup Qatar 2022 is over but India requires a point in order to secure a berth AFC Asian Cup China 2023. India are currently placed on six points after seven matches, while Afghanistan are on five points from seven games.

While interacting in the pre match press conference at Doha, the head coach of India Igor Stimac said, "I need to say that I don’t know any coach or any team who would come out playing for a draw. Even that might seem to be a situation when you are facing much better sides. Then, you need to drop and defend for your life and wait for one, two or three chances to counter-attack like against Qatar. But, we are not going out to play for a draw. Rather, we will go out to win it. We need to start doing it from the kick-off. I know and am very confident that all our boys are ready and fit. They need to enjoy the game.”

The match will kick off at 7.30PM at Doha.

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07.06.2021: BANGLADESH 0-2 INDIA (Doha - FT..)

INDIA: Sunil Chhetri 79', 90'+2'
BANGLADESH: Anisur Rahman, Md Rahmat Mia, Topu Barman, Tariq Raihan Kazi, Md Manik Hossain Molla, Jamal Bhuyan, Masuk Mia Zoni, Biplo Ahamed, Md Matin Miah, Riyadul Hasan, Rakib Hossain

INDIA: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Subhasish Bose, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Sandesh Jhingan, Bipin Singh, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Glan Martins, Brandon Fernandes, Udanta Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh

REFEREE: Zaid Mohammed

FULL TIME India beat Bangladesh to stay in contention of AFC Asian Cup. First win of India after 11 matches.
90'+2':GOOOOAAALLLLLLL Sunil once again scores for India. Suresh's pass, Sunil's fine first touch, turn and a brilliant shot finds the net.
90'+1':Double Substitution for India: Pronay Halder and Adil Khan in place of Chinglensana and Brandon.
90':4 minutes of added time.
89':Sunil picked Ashique, good block by Anisur.
86':Brandon's corner kick, this time cleared by keeper. Good save by Anisur.
85':Yasir's shot, blocked. Corner to India.
79':GOOOAALLLLLLLLL Sunil Chhetri once more scores for India, Ashique's cross, Sunil's header finds the net.
76':Back to back two corner of Bangladesh, Jamal's corner kick, Sunil clears first one and 2nd one goes wide.
74':Yellow Card to Ashique for his bad tackle.
73':Subhasish's header from corner kick, went wide.
72':Glan's long ranger, deflected and corner to India.
68':Yasir's cross from left flank, cleared in defence.
62':Brandon's free kick, Sunil's header went wide.
59':Substitution for India: Liston Colaco in place of Manvir Singh.
58':Chance to Yasir, but his shot blocked outside Bangladesh box.
55':Sandesh's header deflected and finds the keeper from Brandon's corner.
54':Ashique's cross, cleared, another corner to India.
52':Bangladesh defence once again cleared the ball from corner.
51':Chinglensana's forward pass, cleared. Corner to India.
46':Second half resumes.
46':Double Substitution For India: Yasir Mohammad and Ashique Kuruniyan in place of Udanta Singh and Bipin Singh.
HALF TIME Score remains goalless between Bangladesh and India at half time.
45':1 minutes of added time.
40':Brandon's shot, straight to Anisur's hand.
35':Back to back two corner to India, Chinglensana's header cleared in goalline and Sunil's header from the 2nd corner, goes over the bar.
33':Corner to India after Bipin's cross cleared.
32':Ball cleared from the corner, another close chance to India.
31':Suresh's cross, cleared. Corner to India.
28':Chance to Sunil, looks like a penalty, but referee denied it and gives hand ball against Sunil.
26':Brandon's free kick, cleared in defence.
25':Foul against Udanta, free kick to India.
20':Another fine move through Brandon, Sunil, but Udanta's final pass went wide.
17':Chinglensana to Udanta to Suresh, but his shot saved by keeper Anisur.
15':Bradon's brilliant through to Manvir, but he missed a clear goal scoring chance.
11':Bipin's fine cross, narrowly missing out Sunil in box.
9':Long throw-in of Bangladesh, Chinglensana cleared the ball.
7':Brandon's corner kick, cleared in Bangladesh defence.
6':Brandon's pass, Bipin's cross from left flank blocked. First corner to India.
3':Brandon is back on feet after treatment, he looks alright. Play resumed.
1':Yellow Card to Rakib Hossain for his bad tackle to Brandon.
0':Kick off.
0':National anthems have been played. Match is about to start.
0':Hello and welcome to you all for today's live update between Bangladesh vs India.

INDIA TO FACE BANGLADESH AT DOHA

6.6.21: India and Bangladesh to face an important match at Doha on Monday evening in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 preliminary joint round qualification round. Bangladesh earned a point against Afghanistan in their last match, while 10 men Indian squad lost against Qatar by a solitary goal after an heart winning performance by goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

The chances of qualifying in the World Cup for both the teams are already over but it is a must win situation for India in the next two matches in order to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup. India currently placed forth in Group E with 3 points from 6 matches. Bangladesh are at the bottom of the league table with 2 points from the identical number of matches.

The first round match at Kolkata on the 15th of October 2019 ended in a 1-1 draw. The match on 7th evening against Bangladesh and against Afganistan on 15th are extremely important for the Indians as they still have a chance to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup. The Head coach Igor Stimac is optimistic as he said, "boys feel it, nod, and work their hearts out:.

India never lost to Bangladesh in the World Cup qualifying matches. India won 2 out of the 3 matches played so far. While the last match at Yubabharati Kriangan ended in a 1-1 draw.

PREVIOUS MATCHES BETWEEN INDIA AND BANGLADESH IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS :

30th MARCH 1985: BANGLADESH 1-2 INDIA
12th APRIL 1985: INDIA 2-1 BANGLADESH
15th OCTOBER 2019: INDIA 1-1 BANGLADESH

The match will kick off at 7.30pm (IST) at Doha.

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03.06.2021: INDIA 0-1 QATAR (FT)

QATAR: Abdel Aziz Hatim 34'
RED CARD: Rahul Bheke 17'(India)

INDIA: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Rahul Bheke, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhashish Bose, Ashique Kuruniyan, Glan Martins, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Sunil Chhetri, Bipin Singh, Manvir Singh

QATAR: Saad Al Sheeb, Abdel Karim Hassan, Musaab Khidir Mohamed, Bassam Hisham Alrawi, Abdel Aziz Hatim, Karim Boudiaf, Boualem Khoukhi, Yusuf Abdurisag, Hasan Al Haydos, Almoez Ali, Mohammed Muntari

FULL TIME Qatar beat 10-Man India by a solitary goal
90': 3 Minutes added on.
83': Substitution for India: Sahal Abdul Samad and Liston Colaco in place of Ashiqur and Suresh.
73': Substitution for India: Akash Mishra in place of Bipin Singh
67': Substitution for India: Lalengmawia in place of Glan Martins
65':Gurpreet made another fine save to deny another one to one chance. He is being instrumental so far in Indian defence.
46': Substitution for India: Udanta Singh in place of Sunil Chhetri
46':Second half resumes.
HALF TIME Qatar leading by a goal against 10-man India at half time.
45':1 minutes of added time.
43': Another chance to Manvir from Sunil's pass, but his shot blocked in defence.
34':GOALLLLLLLL Abdel Aziz scored from a close range to advance Qatar.
29': Manvir nearly finds an opener from Ashique's pass, good save by keeper Al Sheeb.
17':Red Card to Rahul Bheke for Hand Ball. India down to 10-Man early.
9': Yellow Card to Rahul Bheke.
0': Kick off.

**India so far played 48 matches in World Cup Qualifier, where India won 10 matches, drew 14 matches and lost 24 matches. India scored 46 goals and conceded 92 goals so far.

**This will be 3rd time India and Qatar will face each other in World Cup Qualifier, where Qatar won one match and last match was goalless draw.

**Qatar won 5 matches and draw 1 match so far in Group E and remains top of the table. India on the other hand is in 4th position with 3 draw and 2 loss.

**India's best display so far was in 2002 World Cup Qualifier, where though they finished 3rd in table but points gap was 1 with the table topper. UAE finished top of the table with 12 points, whereas India finished with 11 points with 3 win, 2 draw and 1 loss. Jo Paul Ancheri scored 4 goals, I M Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia and Jules Alberto scored a brace and Abdul Hakkim also scored one.

COMMITTED INDIANS TO FACE QATAR IN WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

2.6.21: Indian National team to face Qatar in an important match of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers, and simultaneously the preliminary qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 on Thursday night at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha.

The Indian team are preparing since 21st May after they reached Doha on the 19th under Head Coach Igor Stimac. The camp was scheduled at Kolkata but owing to unavoidable pandemic situation since last few months the camp was forced to sifted to Doha .

The young Indians are committed to prove themselves against Qatar. The last match they played against the Asian champions Qatar, it ended goalless. While interacting before the match, Head coach Igor Stimac said, “I reiterate, they are all good professionals, and I don’t have much of a task in keeping them motivated. “The boys have been working hard with full commitment on the training pitch. They know that they are representing their country, and they will do everything possible to defend the India colours.”
Sunil Chetri, is the most experienced footballer in the current Indian squad. In a discussion with the AIFF media, Sunil said, “Qatar are one of the top teams in Asia. They have had some decent results against top European and South American teams in the recent past. The last time we took a point against them makes us confident as a team. We understand that they will come out all guns blazing at us, and we need to stick together as a team.”
It is relatively a hot and humid condition at Doha. The temperature rises upto 45 degrees and more during the day. But the evenings are significantly pleasant. The match will kick off at 10.30 pm IST.

28-MEMBER PROBABLE SQUAD TO TRAVEL DOHA TODAY

19.05.2021: AIFF PRESS RELEASE A 28-member Indian National Team squad will leave for Doha today evening (May 19, 2021) for India’s three forthcoming matches in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers, slated to be played from June 3 onwards.

As per the health parameters required to travel to Qatar, all the travelling players and staff carry with them negative test results from the RTPCR tests conducted in the last 48 hours. All of them were also in isolation in the Capital under the bio bubble at the team hotel from May 15 onwards.

Stimac stated that although it is not the “ideal situation” ahead of the June Qualifiers, the Blue Tigers will be putting in “intense” sessions before their matches get underway.

“It’s not an ideal situation as we move ahead to the Qualifiers in June. Due to the pandemic, our National Camp which was slated to begin in Kolkata at the beginning of May had to get cancelled. The pandemic also robbed us of a friendly match in Dubai,” the Head Coach maintained.

“However, we understand the magnitude of the situation, and it will be intense sessions in Doha to raise the tempo and try to get ready for the matches which starts with the one against the Asian Champions Qatar in Doha,” Stimac averred.

India are scheduled to play Asian Champions Qatar on June 3, Bangladesh on June 7, and Afghanistan on June 15 with all three matches to be played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha. Among the 28 named for the camp, Glan Martins remains the sole player to have made it to a National team camp for the first-time ever.

Meanwhile, National Team captain Sunil Chhetri expressed his relief to get back into the National team set-up. “It’s such a relief to be back in the National team squad – after all, home is where the heart is. Personally, I am eagerly looking forward to being in Doha. The last time I was in Doha, I couldn’t be a part of the match against Qatar owing to illness,” Sunil, who has 72 International goals to his name, opined.

“The matches in June are extremely tough and we need to take them one at a time. Given the fact that we don’t have much time, the preparatory camp will add immense value helping all to gel together, and strike that chord ahead of the first match,” he added.

“Doha has always had an emotional connection with me. It was there that I played in the 2011 Asian Cup, and also the AFC Cup final for my club Bengaluru FC.”

The round of matches is being played in Doha in view of the COVID pandemic situation which doesn’t allow the original format of home and away matches. India are currently on 3 points from 3 matches in Group E.

The Senior National Team has already had a camp earlier this year in Dubai, after the completion of the domestic season, following which, they participated in two FIFA International Friendlies against Oman and UAE.

India’s Fixtures:

June 3: India vs Qatar (IST 10.30pm).
June 7: Bangladesh vs India (IST 7.30pm).
June 15: India vs Afghanistan (IST 7.30pm).

The 28-member squad is as follows:

GOALKEEPERS: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Dheeraj Singh.

DEFENDERS: Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Narender Gehlot, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Adil Khan, Akash Mishra, Subhashish Bose.

MIDFIELDERS: Udanta Singh, Brandon Fernandes, Liston Colaco, Rowllin Borges, Glan Martins, Anirudh Thapa, Pronoy Halder, Suresh Singh, Lalengmawia Ralte, Abdul Sahal, Yasir Mohammad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Bipin Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan.

FORWARDS: Ishan Pandita, Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh.