The Indian men’s football team will return to action after more than 15 months when they face Oman and United Arab Emirates in friendly matches in March.
The Blue Tigers will face Oman on March 25 and UAE four days later on March 29.
Indian men’s team last played an international match in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Oman in Muscat in November 2019.
Igor Stimac’s men who have three points from five matches in their qualifiers are set to face Bangladesh and Afghanistan later this year and will play the two friendlies as preparation for the same.
Both matches will be held in Dubai where the Indian team will assemble for the camp from March 15, two days after the Indian Super League season ends.
India haven’t enjoyed a lot of success under Stimac so far, winning just one match since the Croatian took charge of the team.
However, India have plenty to play for in the World qualifiers as they target an easier path to qualify for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
The Blue Tigers need to finish in third place to guarantee a direct place in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers group phase. Failure to do so would mean India would need to go through two rounds of playoffs to get there.