India U-23 team to play friendlies against Singapore

New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) The India U-23 national team will play two friendlies against Singapore ahead of the AFC U-23 Championships slated to be held in Doha, the All India Football Federation (AIFF

New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) The India U-23 national team will play two friendlies against Singapore ahead of the AFC U-23 Championships slated to be held in Doha, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Thursday.

India coach Stephen Constantine felt the games would be a “learning experience” for the team.

“It’s been two weeks that we have been together and the U-23 boys need competitive games. The tour to Singapore would be a valuable experience for the squad to gauge the intensity of International encounters. I thank AIFF for arranging the matches ahead of our AFC Qualifiers,” Constantine told the AIFF’s official website.

“The games would be competitive and provide us the much needed exposure,” he added.

The U-23 team is presently preparing at the Ambedkar Stadium here since June 19 and will fly to Singapore in the first week of July from where they will directly proceed to take on Turkmenistan, Qatar and Syria in Group C from July 19 onwards.

This is published unedited from the IANS feed.