The 2018 Intercontinental Cup (known as the 2018 Hero Intercontinental Cup for sponsorship reasons[1]) was a 4-nations football tournament held at the Mumbai Football Arena in the Indian city of Mumbai between 1 and 10 June 2018. The tournament was organized by the AIFF as part of the senior men's team's preparation for 2019 AFC Asian Cup.[2] The tournament succeeded the Nehru Cup and developed post 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.[3] India won the tournament by defeating Kenya 2–0 in the final on 10 June 2018.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | India |
| City | Mumbai |
| Dates | 1–10 June 2018 |
| Teams | 4 (from 3 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  India (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Kenya |
| Third place |  New Zealand |
| Fourth place |  Chinese Taipei |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Goals scored | 21 (3 per match) |
| Attendance | 27,399 (3,914 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Sunil Chhetri (8 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Sunil Chhetri |
2019 → | |
Participating nations
editThe FIFA Rankings, as of 1 June 2018:
South Africa
India (97) - first appearance - host
Kenya (112) - first appearance
New Zealand (120) - first appearance
Chinese Taipei (121) - first appearance
Initially, South Africa was announced to participate in the tournament but Kenya later replaced them when South Africa expressed its inability to participate.[4] The other two nations participated in the tournament were Chinese Taipei from AFC region and New Zealand from the OFC region.[2]
Group stage
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 6 | Advance to the Final | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) head-to-head match result
(H) Hosts
| Kenya | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| India | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Final
editWinners
edit| 2018 Intercontinental Cup champion |
|---|
India First title |
Crowd attendance
editAfter a poor attendance of 2,569 for the first match of the tournament, Indian captain Sunil Chhetri uploaded a video[7] on his Twitter and Instagram accounts pleading for Indians to attend Indian football matches.[8] Chhetri's plea was endorsed by other sports people, including Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, and tennis player Sania Mirza.[9] People responded to the plea by booking tickets for India's upcoming game against Kenya, and the game was sold out before the match day.[10] The match was Chhetri's 100th cap for India in which he scored a brace, leading India to win 3–0. The tweet was the most retweeted tweet in 2018, per Twitter India and was awarded The Golden Tweet.[11]
Broadcasting rights
editStar Sports did broadcast for the 2018 Intercontinental Cup (India) on Star Sports HD2 & Star Sports 2. It was also streamed live on Hotstar and Jio TV.[12]
Goalscorers
edit- 8 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Mumbai Football Arena To Host Hero Intercontinental Cup From June 1". www.the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ a b "AIFF announces inaugural four-nation Intercontinental Cup to be held in Mumbai". 20 April 2018. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ^ Bal, Sarthac (18 August 2017). "India vs Mauritius in tri-nation football, Stephen Constantine may test bench". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ "Kenya replace South Africa in Intercontinental Cup". 7 May 2018. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- ^ "'Scream at us, but come watch us': Indian captain Sunil Chhetri makes heartfelt plea to fans". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ @ThatUnitedLady (4 June 2018). "Attendance figures: India vs Chinese Taipei, June 1: 2569 India vs Kenya, today: 8890" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @chetrisunil11 (2 June 2018). "This is nothing but a small plea from me to you. Take out a little time and give me a listen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "India captain Sunil Chhetri in plea to fans after only 2,569 watch cup game". bbc.com. BBC. 3 June 2018. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "'Can I have a ticket please?': Sania Mirza joins Tendulkar, Kohli in support of Chhetri's plea to football fans". moneycontrol.com. Moneycontrol.com. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "After Sunil Chhetri's emotional plea, tickets for India game sold out". economictimes.indiatimes.com. The Economic Times. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
- ^ "Sunil Chhetri's plea to Indian fans marked as Golden Tweet by Twitter India". 6 December 2018. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Intercontinental Cup 2018: Venue, fixtures and TV guide". Sulthan's Monologue. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.