2019 Asian Cup:- India will compete in the Asian Cup for the fourth time in its history, in which it plans to exit the last two stage of the group stage.
2019 Asian Cup: Groups, latest news and all you need to know
The new year’s first big tournament will see the Indian football team in action in the AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Continental tournaments beat the best national teams in this field for an opportunity in glory. From 2004 to 2015, the Asian Cup was played between 16 teams, but the 2019 edition, 17th overall, will see 24 teams in action. The UAE is hosting the tournament for the second time, In 1996, the host team also played in 1996. Australia is the last winner with a win in the 2015 Asian Cup. The 2019 AFC Asian Cup winners will also play the 2021 Confederations Cup – which will be the winners of each continental tournament.
India at AFC Asian Cup
India did not compete in the 2015 Asian Cup and this is the first appearance after the 2011 edition. India played in the AFC Asian Cup three times – 1964, 1984 and 2011 – in the second edition of the 1964 edition, the group reached the finals faltering in the second phase. Even in the run-up to the final in 1964 comes with a caveat. After getting out due to a political scenario by many Western teams, India has achieved the direct qualification. Played in a round-robin format, the 1964 edition of the Asian Cup was won by the host Israel, but it had only four participants. With the victory over South Korea and Hong Kong, India secured second place.
For the 2019 edition, India has been placed in Group A alongside UAE, Bahrain, and Thailand. Their first match will be against Sunday in Abu Dhabi’s Al Nahyan Stadium on Sunday (January 6th). After this India will play from the UAE on January 10 and will close their round-robin fixtures on 14th January with a competition against Bahrain.
Nations are participating in AFC 2019 Asian Cup
The Asian Cup will be held in the UAE from January 5 to February 1, 2019. For the continental glory, it is decided to be the largest in the Asian Cup tournament history with 24 teams. It used to be 16 teams from 2005 to 2015.
The format of the AFC Asian Cup 2019 and Groups for the AFC Asian Cup,24 teams have been divided into six groups of four teams. In the group stage, each team plays three games, in which there is a knockout with the winners and runners-up as well as four best third-placed teams. Sixteen teams compete in a single-elimination tournament in the knockout phase, starting with 16 rounds and ending with the final match of the tournament. For the first time since 1972, no third place playoff match will be played in the history of the tournament.
Groups for the AFC Asian Cup
GROUP A: UAE, Bahrain, India, Thailand
GROUP B: Australia, Syria, Jordan, Palestine
GROUP C: South Korea, China, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines
GROUP D: Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Yemen
GROUP E: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, North Korea
GROUP F: Japan, Uzbekistan, Oman, Turkmenistan
prize money for the AFC Asian Cup 2019
The total prize money for the tournament is the US $ 14,800,000. The winner of the tournament will receive $ 5 million, runner-up $ 3 million, and the losing semi-finalist will receive $ 1 million. All 24 participating teams will also get $ 200,000.
