There is a mix of hope and expectation as the senior Indian men’s football team goes through the paces in the unrelenting summer heat, trying to put its best foot forward in the continental competition — the 18th edition of the AFC Asian Cup which starts early next year.
Bhubaneswar, home to Indian Super League side Odisha FC, has offered its facilities to the national squad that has been picked mainly from the latest season of the country’s top league (ISL).
Former Croatian World Cupper Igor Stimac, who has helmed the Indian team for the past four years, has started the final lap of the preparatory process that will see the country begin its Asian Cup campaign in the second week of January in Qatar.
