The 2023 Intercontinental Cup (known as the 2023 Hero Intercontinental Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the third edition of the Intercontinental Cup, a four-nation football tournament held at the Kalinga Stadium, in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar between the 9 to 18 June 2023. The tournament was organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).[1] North Korea won the previous edition by a 1–0 victory over Tajikistan in the final in 2019.[2] India became the champion of this edition after defeating Lebanon by 2–0 in the final. With two goals each, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Sunil Chhetri of India were joint-top scorers of the tournament.[3] Sandesh Jhingan of India was awarded best player of the tournament.[4]

Participating nations

The tournament is being played by teams from two different confederations in the FIFA international window from 9 to 18 June 2023. India, as host, is joined by Lebanon and Mongolia from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and Vanuatu from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC).[5][6] The teams play each other in a round-robin phase, and the top two teams will play the final.[7]

The FIFA Rankings of the participating national teams, as of 6 April 2023:[8]

Venue

Bhubaneswar
Kalinga Stadium
20°17′17″N 85°49′25.5″E / 20.28806°N 85.823750°E / 20.28806; 85.823750 (Ahmedabad)
Capacity: 15,000 seats

Prize money

Position Amount (USD)
Champions 100000
Runners-up 50000

Source=New Indian Express

Standings

Round robin

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  India (H) 3 2 1 0 3 0 +3 7 Advances to Final
2  Lebanon 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 5
3  Vanuatu 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3
4  Mongolia 3 0 1 2 0 3 −3 1
Source: AIFF
(H) Hosts

Matches

Lebanon 3–1 Vanuatu
Report Wohale 62'
Attendance: 400
Referee: Harish Kundu (India)
India 2–0 Mongolia
Report
Attendance: 6,200
Referee: Songkran Bunmeekiart (Thailand)

Mongolia 0–0 Lebanon
Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Ramachandran Venkatesh (India)
Vanuatu 0–1 India
Report Chhetri 81'
Attendance: 6,200
Referee: Virendha Rai (Bhutan)

Vanuatu 1–0 Mongolia
Gantuya 46' (o.g.) Report
Attendance: 200
Referee: Songkran Bunmeekiart (Thailand)
India 0–0 Lebanon
Report
Attendance: 5,400
Referee: Javiz Mohamed (Maldives)

Final

India 2–0 Lebanon
Report
Attendance: 12,600
Referee: Virendha Rai (Bhutan)

Winners

 2023 Intercontinental Cup Champion 

India

Second title

Goalscorers

There were 10 goals scored in 7 matches, for an average of 1.43 goals per match.

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

References

  1. ^ a b "Bhubaneswar to host Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023 in June". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  2. ^ "DPR Korea lift Hero inter-continental cup 2019 title". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  3. ^ Das Sharma, Amitabha (18 June 2023). "India beats Lebanon to win Intercontinental Cup title". Sportstar. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  4. ^ Rawat, Akhil (18 June 2023). "Champions! Chhetri and his knights make it a momentous night for India". AIFF. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023: A quick-start guide to the Blue Tigers' opponents". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  6. ^ Sarkar, Uttiyo (4 June 2023). "Hero Intercontinental Cup Rival Watch: Vanuatu". khelnow.com. Khel Now India. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  7. ^ "India to play Mongolia in Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023 opener". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  8. ^ "FIFA Men's Ranking". fifa.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
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