Merdeka Cup 2023 football, live streaming: India vs Malaysia in ...

The Indian men's football team, led by talismanic Sunil Chhetri, will take on hosts Malaysia in the semi-finals of the Merdeka Cup 2023 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

The winner of the India vs Malaysia Merdeka Cup 2023 semi-final will play Tajikistan in the final on Tuesday. Live streaming and live telecast of the Merdeka Cup 2023 football tournament will be available in India.

Merdeka Cup or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly international football tournament played in Malaysia to celebrate the country’s Independence Day. The inaugural edition took place in 1957 but was last held in 2013. The 2023 tournament will be the 42nd edition of the Merdeka Cup. 

Merdeka Cup 2023 was initially a four-team affair with Palestine vs Lebanon scheduled to play the second semi-final. However, both the West Asian teams pulled out of the tournament and Tajikistan were invited.

India, 102nd in the FIFA football rankings, will be the top-ranked team at the tournament. Tajikistan are 110th and the hosts Malaysia are 134th. 

Sunil Chhetri will lead a full-strength Indian squad which also includes Sandesh Jhingan and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

The match on Friday will be India’s 32nd international versus Malaysia. The two teams, however, last met in a friendly in Kolkata in 2011, where India won 3-2.

India have featured in 17 of the previous 41 editions of the Merdeka Cup, last making an appearance in 2001. 

India’s best performances at the Malaysian tournament are runners-up finishes in 1959 and 1964. In 2001, India, with IM Vijayan in the team, lost all three matches and made an exit from the group stage.

Where to watch Merdeka Cup 2023 live in India

Live streaming of the Merdeka Cup 2023 football tournament will be available on the Indian Football YouTube channel. Merdeka Cup 2023 will be broadcast live on Eurosport TV channel in India.

Merdeka Cup 2023 schedule

October 13, Friday: Semi-final: Malaysia vs India - 6:30 PM IST

October 17, Tuesday: Final: Malaysia/India vs Tajikistan - 6:30 PM IST

Merdeka Cup 2023: India squad

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Vishal Kaith

Midfielders: Suresh Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Sahal Abdul Samad, Brandon Fernandes, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Udanta Singh, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Liston Colaco, Nandhakumar Sekar

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh

Defenders: Nikhil Poojary, Roshan Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra, Subhasish Bose

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