Shillong To Host Asian Cup Qualifier Against Bangladesh In March

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, Meghalaya, will host the India senior men's national football team in the two matches that they will play during the March FIFA International Window, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Tuesday.

India begin their AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 qualifiers final round campaign against Bangladesh on March 25, and will play an international friendly against the Maldives on March 19 as part of their preparation at the JLN Stadium in Shillong.

India have been drawn in Group C of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round, alongside Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangladesh. The teams will play each other twice in a home-and-away round-robin format till March 2026. The group winners will make it to the Asian Cup tournament proper.

India have faced all three opponents in the recent past. They last faced Bangladesh in the 2021 SAFF Championship, Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata in June 2022, and Singapore in the Hưng Thịnh Friendly Tournament in Vietnam in September 2022.

As per the FIFA Rankings released in November, India are placed 127th, Hong Kong are 156th, Singapore are 161st and Bangladesh are 185th.

This is the first time that JLN Shillong will host senior men's international matches after the stadium was refurbished last year. The 15,100-seater arena has hosted matches in domestic tournaments and leagues, like the Durand Cup, Indian Super League, I-League, I-League 2nd Division among others.

India's matches in March 2025 FIFA International Window:

March 19: India vs Maldives, 7pm IST, FIFA International Friendly

March 25: India vs Bangladesh, 7pm IST, AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers final round

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