Looking back at the past editions of the Intercontinental Cup

The Indian football team is gearing up for the Intercontinental Cup 2024 under Manolo Marquez.

Intercontinental Cup is the All-India Football Federation’s(AIFF) four-nation football tournament, first introduced in 2018. It was introduced as a replacement for the erstwhile Nehru Cup which made Indian football witness some of the most scintillating matches of international football in the past.

The AIFF declared it to be an annual competition in 2023 and linked it to their “Vision 2047” plan to develop football in India. Three editions have ended successfully since it was added to the Indian football calendar. The Intercontinental Cup has already seen some of the most incredible footballing moments, from Sunil Chhetri‘s volley against Vanuatu in 2023 to India winning the trophy in the first edition after defeating Kenya in the final.

The fourth edition of the competition, which will be held in Hyderabad’s Gachibowli stadium and will be a tri-nation competition for the first time, is scheduled to begin on September 3, 2024. India, the host country, Syria, a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and Mauritius, a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), are the three competing teams this year.

The Group Stage winner will be proclaimed the winner of this season, and the match will be played in the Round-Robin format. Additionally, it would be Coach Manolo Marquez‘s debut tournament in his role as Association Football Manager of India. In June 2024, it was reported that Marquez had been selected to succeed Igor Stimac.

Here, in this article, we go down the timeline to look back at the past editions of the Intercontinental Cup.

Hero Intercontinental Cup 2018: The inaugural edition

In the year 2018, AIFF announced the Intercontinental Cup, which was introduced to replace the erstwhile Nehru Cup. Four nations, namely, India, Kenya, New Zealand, and Chinese Taipei, participated in the tournament.

The tournament was organized by the AIFF as part of the senior men’s team’s preparation for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. It developed after the Tri-Nation Series, where the then-India head coach Stephen Constantine revealed that the intention was to hold a four-team tournament with India competing against teams from the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia.

In the first Intercontinental Cup, the tournament was held solely in Mumbai with Kenya and India making it to the championship game after the Group Stage round. India won all three of their Group Stage matches en route to the championship. India claimed a dominating 5-0 victory over Chinese Taipei in the opening game.

With Sunil Chhetri scoring both of India’s goals in the first half alone, the team easily defeated Kenya in the final. After scoring eight goals from four games, Indian captain Sunil Chhetri also held the record for most goals scored in the competition. 

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Hero Intercontinental Cup 2019: The second edition

The second edition of the tournament saw participation from Syria, Tajikistan, North Korea, and India being the host nation. This time, the tables did turn for the hosts. After the end of the group stage, India were seated last in the standings with two losses and one draw.

While North Korea and Tajikistan advanced to the finals, with North Korea eventually winning it, India’s Sunil Chhetri was jointly announced as the top goal scorer of the tournament yet again, alongside North Korea’s Jong Il-gwan and Ri Hyong-jin, with all of them scoring three goals each.

This time, the tournament was held in Ahmedabad, with all the matches being played at the TransStadia Arena. Park Hyon-il’s 71st-minute strike in the final sealed the championship for North Korea against Tajikistan. Tajikistan and India met each other in the opening game of the tournament. Tajikistan emerged victorious in the opening game with a 4-2 victory over the host nation. Sunil Chhetri scored both of India’s goals in the game.

Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023: The much-anticipated return

The AIFF brought back the event after a three-year hiatus, but this time with firm recognition and a fresh outlook. Lebanon, Vanuatu, and Mongolia made their first-ever debuts in the tournament’s history, with India serving as the host nation.

This time, all of the third edition tournament’s matches were held at Bhubaneshwar’s Kalinga Stadium. India finished the group stage of the competition with two victories and a tie, advancing them to the finals.

Conversely, Lebanon advanced to the championship game with two draws and one victory, which came from their matchup with Vanuatu. After overcoming Lebanon 2-0 in the championship match, India was proclaimed champions once more.

In the group stage, India’s fixture against Vanuatu became the talk of the town after Sunil Chhetri’s volley saved the game for the hosts thus keeping their championship dreams alive.

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