India in tough group ahead of AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers

The AFC Challenge Cup 2014 qualifiers draw was held in Kuala Lumpur in
Malaysia on Tuesday and the Indian national football team has been
drawn alongside Myanmar, Chinese Taipeiand Guam in Group A of the
qualifiers to be played in Myanmar.
The 169th ranked Blue Tigers shallplay their matches on the 2 nd , 4
th and 6 th of March 2013. With the I-League taking a break from
February 10 to March 23, Wim Koevermans will hope to hold a
preparatory camp in the build-up to the competition.
India is the second highest rankedteam in the group, with Myanmar
being 13 places above them at 156 th in the FIFA Rankings. The group,
which might prove to be a tricky one for India to get through, is
completed by Chinese Taipei and Guam, who are ranked 176 th and 181 st
respectively.
The 20 contenders have been divided into 5 groups, with the winners of
each group and 2 of the best over-all runner-ups qualifying for the
2014 AFC Challenge Cup finals, where they shall be joined by hosts
Maldives.
The winner of that tournament shall then confirm their place in the
2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia, for which DPR Korea hasalready
qualified, having won the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup, beating Turkmenistan
2-1.