Top 5 foreign players to watch out for in Hero Intercontinental Cup 2019

Some of these names have been playing at the highest level in Asia for long.

On May 13, the AIFF announced that the second edition of the Hero Intercontinental Cup would feature four Asian sides. Syria, Tajikistan and DPR Korea had accepted the invitation and the tournament will begin on July 7 and will be held in the EKA Arena by TransStadia Arena in Ahmedabad.

Syria are the highest ranked side among all the teams, sitting at 83rd according to the current FIFA rankings. The Blue Tigers are currently ranked 101st while Tajikistan and North Korea are placed 120th and 121st respectively.

India are the defending champions, having defeated Kenya in the final last year and are coming on the back of a third place finish at the King's Cup, which saw the first action under new management in-charge of the national team led by Igor Stimac. The Blue Tigers will kick -off the tournament when they take on Tajikistan on July 7.

Ahead of the tournament, here are the top five players to watch out for:

5. Ri Myong-guk (DPR Korea, Goalkeeper)

Coming from a family where both his father and his uncle were goalkeepers for the national team, Ri Myong-guk has extended that glorious legacy through his career and is now the highest capped player for DPR Korea with 120 appearances.

Ri was also nominated for the Asian Footballer of the Year award in 2009 and also appeared in the World Cup in 2010, where North Korea managed to qualify.

He had been named the best male footballer in North Korea for three years consecutively in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Currently, the 32-year-old guards the post of Pyongyang City, where he has played for more than a decade.

 

4. Akhtam Nazarov (Tajikistan, Defender)

Nazarov is a prolific left-back with his national side. He made his debut with the Persian Lions in 2011 and has been a regular since 2014. Akhtam scored his first goal with the national team in October 2015 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan and has found the back of the net four more times since.

Akhtam plays for Istiklol in the Tajik league. Having signed for the club in 2013, he has made 170 appearances and has scored 19 times.   He has made five appearances in the AFC Cup so far.

3. Mahmoud Al-Mawas (Syria, Midfielder/Winger)

Mahmoud Al-Mawas is the chief creator of the Syrian national team. Having made his debut in 2012, he is currently the second-most capped player in the squad behind captain Firas Al-Khatib. He has scored eight goals for the national team so far, having gotten his first in a 4-0 win against Cambodia in 2015.

The 26-year-old can also be deployed as a winger, beside his #10 role and currently plays for Umm Salal in the Qatar Stars League. He appeared in every game for his side in the 2018/19 league campaign and scored eight goals.

2. Parvizdzhon Umarbayev (Tajikistan, Midfielder)

Parvizdzhon made his debut for the national team in 2015 and since then has gone on to play 19 games with the Tajikistan senior national side. In those 19 caps, the 24-year-old has six goals, a fantastic return for a midfielder.

He scored his first goal against Bangladesh in an Asian Cup qualification match on 2nd June, 2016 and got another three goals in the qualification process, that showed just how integral and crucial he is to the national team.

Parvizdzhon currently plays for Belgian First League club Lokomotiv Plovdiv and holds Russian citizenship as well. He has a bright future ahead of him and is definitely one of the players to watch in the upcoming International Cup.

1. Firas Al Khatib (Syria, Forward)

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Al-Khatib is not only the captain of the Syrian national team, but is also a modern day great and a national icon. The forward has had a long and illustrious career and has made 66 appearances with the national team so far, with 31 goals to his name.

The best phase of Al Khatib’s career was definitely the two spells he had with Kuwaiti club Al-Arabi, for whom he scored a spectacular 186 goals in 196 appearances between 2003 and 2009 and another 51 goals in 59 appearances between 2014 and 2016. He currently plays for Al-Salmiya in the Kuwaiti Premier League.