India will begin their 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign away to Myanmar in Group A on March 28. India, who achieved a decade-high FIFA ranking of 129th in January this year, will be joined by Kyrgyzstan and Macau in the four-team group.
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup will feature 24 teams for the very first time in history, and 12 of the teams have already qualified for the continental event, including defending champions Australia and hosts United Arab Emirates. India were ranked seventh among the 24 nations that are competing for the remaining 12 slots, which were to be divided into six groups of four teams each, with the top two teams from each group slated to advance to the finals.
India, who last qualified for the finals of the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 when Qatar hosted it, had their best finish in the 1964 edition when they were runners-up behind champions and hosts Israel.
The draw ceremony was held in Abu Dhabi, which will host three of the eight stadia that will host matches during the Asian Cup, including Zayed Sports City stadium which will stage both the opening match as well as the final.
India's matches (Group A):
March 28, 2017: Myanmar v India
June 13, 2017: India v Kyrgyzstan
September 5, 2017: Macau v India
October 10, 2017: India v Macau
November 14, 2017: India v Myanmar
March 27, 2018: Kyrgyzstan v India
The final groups:
Group A: Kyrgyzstan, India, Myanmar, Macau
Group B: North Korea, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Malaysia
Group C: Jordan, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Cambodia
Group D: Oman, Palestine, Maldives, Bhutan
Group E: Bahrain, Turkmenistan, Chinese Taipei, Singapore
Group F: Philippines, Tajikistan, Yemen, Nepal