AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The Blue Tigers will be facing Curacao in their first match of the King's Cup in Buriram, Thailand on June 5, 2019. Hosts Thailand and Vietnam play against each other in the second match on the opening day.

The winners of the two matches will qualify for the final on June 8, while the other two teams will battle it out in the third place play-off on the same day.  As per April 2019 FIFA Rankings, India are ranked 101, with Thailand at 114, Vietnam at 98, and Curacao at 82.

India's previous participations in the King's Cup were in 1977 and 1981, while this tournament will also be the first time in 18 years that the Blue Tigers will be playing in an invitational overseas FIFA Ranking tournament, the last being the Merdeka Tournament in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.

The King's Cup will the Senior Men's National Team's first assignment since the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.