Indian football team will play an international friendly match against Puerto Rico on September 3 in Mumbai, the All India Football Federation said on Thursday.
The match will be played at the Andheri Sports Complex.
“We are pleased to announce an international friendly match against Puerto Rico on September 3, 2016, in Mumbai,” AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das said.
“As per the August FIFA Rankings, Puerto Rico are ranked 114. Playing against such an opposition will help us prepare well for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers,” he said in an AIFF release.
National coach Stephen Constantine said that the best way to test the strength of his team was to “playing higher ranked opposition”.
“During my previous tenure in India, we regularly played higher ranked teams. It’s the best way to test yourself.
Puerto Rico are presently ranked 114 and we look forward to playing them,” he stated.
“The pre-season training camp had its own benefits and they were visible even in the high altitude in our unofficial friendly match against Bhutan in Thimphu. But this will be an entirely different ball game,” he added.
Sourced from PTI, Featured image courtesy: www.indraneelghosh.com
