India to play two friendlies ahead of World Cup qualifiers

The senior Indian national football team is set to play two friendly matches ahead of their 2014 FIFA World Cup - Asian Round 2 qualifiers against the United Arab Emirates on July 23 and 28.

The two matches will be against the Maldives on July 10 and Qatar on July 17 with both matches being away games, while India is set to prepare itself for the UAE home-and-away tie in Dubai and maybe the Qatari capital Doha in a likely 15 day camp abroad.

"The qualifying matches for the 2014 FIFA World Cup against UAE are a challenging proposition for the team. Hence, it is imperative the National Team prepares the right manner with enough number of matches," said AIFF National Team Director Tathagata Mukherjee.

"The away games against Qatar and Maldives would be important to prepare for the first-leg against UAE. We are looking forward to the game against Qatar which will be played under similar climatic conditions as that of UAE," he added.

The AIFF has finalised the preparations for the team, but a coach is still to be named with Dempo SC coach Armando Colaco most likely coaching India in the qualifiers as an interim coach, while the search for a new national coach continues.

Meanwhile in the latest FIFA World rankings INDIA have moved up a place to be now 145th in the world rankings, while they are 25th in Asia.