India to play in Cafa Nations Cup – Full schedule, Iran, Tadjikistan among opponents

India will play in the Cafa Nations Cup 2025, to replace Malaysia, which withdrew from the tournament that called logistics challenges.

«The participation of Malaysia was confirmed well in advance, with complete consciousness of the tournament data (29.08. – 08.09.2025) and schedule, and those dates have never been changed from the start,» said the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) in a statement.

«Unfortunately, this late withdrawal has caused certain disruptions to the current organizational processes, in particular given the advanced phase of planning and preparations.»

As a result, the Blue Tigers replaced the Harimau Malaya, making it the first tournament under a new coach after Manolo Marquez, who separated earlier this month.

During the Nations Cup, India will be attracted to Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan, and they will have the opportunity to earn large ranking points if the big disruptions can get against Iran – defender – and Tajikistan, the 2023 Asian Cup Quarter finalist.

The top two teams of each group will continue to the play-off stage, with two games being played on 8 September. The third place is played between the two group second place in Dushanbe, while the two group winners are playing the final in Tashkent.

Cafa Nations Cup 2025 provisional schedule:

• India vs Tadjikistan – August 29

• India vs Iran – September 1

• India vs Afghanistan – September 4

Indian football has stayed in turbulent waters since 2024, when it made a group stage aphrit of the Asian Cup, Igor Stimac coaches changed to Marquez and did not succeed in winning a competitive match in 16 months.

With a rank of 133rd in the newest ranking, the men’s team is in almost a decade to the lowest cases and will be looking for solutions to a new coach, which will probably be determined on 1 August from a shortlist by Khalid Jamil, Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic.