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The Indian men’s football team will be playing the Merdeka Cup for the first time since 2001. 

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Football

The Indian men’s football team will start its Merdeka Tournament 2023 campaign vs hosts Malaysia in the semi-finals on October 13. Get schedule, fixtures and start times.

Merdeka Tournament 2023 football: India vs Malaysia in semi-finals - full schedule

The [**Indian men's football team**](https://olympics.com/en/news/golden-era-indian-football-team-players-top-players-pk-banerjee-chuni-goswami) will face off against hosts Malaysia in the semi-finals of the **Merdeka Cup 2023** on October 13. The match will be played at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur.

The draws for the Merdeka Cup 2023 [**football**](https://olympics.com/en/news/how-to-play-football-rules-field-pitch-free-kick-penalty) were held by FA Malaysia on August 8.

The Merdeka Cup or Pestabola Merdeka, which started in 1957, is a friendly international football tournament played in Malaysia to celebrate the country’s Independence Day.

The tournament, however, was last held in 2013 and is making a comeback after a decade. India have played 17 of the 41 editions of the Merdeka tournament played so far, last making an appearance in 2001.

India’s best performances at the Malaysian tournament are runners-up finishes in 1959 and 1964. In 2001, India, with IM Vijayan in the team, lost all three matches and made an exit from the group stage.

The Merdeka Cup 2023 will be a four-team affair with Palestine facing off against Tajikistan in the other semi-final. Initially it was Lebanon who were scheduled to play Palestine but the team withdrew.

The two semi-final winners will play the final on October 17 while the two losing teams square off in the third-place playoff earlier on the same day.

Palestine, 96th in the latest FIFA football rankings, will be the top seeds in the competition followed by India (99th), Tajikistan (110th) and Malaysia (136th).

The match on October 13 will be India’s 32nd meeting vs Malaysia on the international stage. The two teams, however, last met in a friendly clash in Kolkata in 2011, where India emerged victorious by a 3-2 margin.

## Merdeka Tournament 2023 schedule and start times

*All times in Indian Standard Time (IST)*

**October 13, Friday**

*   **Semi-final 1**: Palestine vs Tajikistan - 2:00 PM IST
*   **Semi-final 2**: Malaysia vs India - 6:30 PM IST

**October 17, Tuesday**

*   **Third-place play-off**: Loser of SF1 vs Loser of SF2 - 2:00 PM
*   **Final**: Winner of SF1 vs Winner of SF2 - 6:30 PM

Merdeka Cup 2023 football: India to face hosts Malaysia in semi-finals on October 13 - full schedule

Indian football team

AF,AX,AL,DZ,AS,AD,AO,AI,AQ,AG,AR,AM,AW,AU,AT,AZ,BS,BH,BD,BB,BY,BE,BZ,BJ,BM,BT,BO,BQ,BA,BW,BV,BR,IO,UM,VG,VI,BN,BG,BF,BI,KH,CM,CA,CV,KY,CF,TD,CL,CN,CX,CC,CO,KM,CG,CD,CK,CR,HR,CU,CW,CY,CZ,DK,DJ,DM,DO,EC,EG,SV,GQ,ER,EE,ET,FK,FO,FJ,FI,FR,GF,PF,TF,GA,GM,GE,DE,GH,GI,GR,GL,GD,GP,GU,GT,GG,GN,GW,GY,HT,HM,VA,HN,HK,HU,IS,IN,ID,CI,IR,IQ,IE,IM,IL,IT,JM,JP,JE,JO,KZ,KE,KI,KW,KG,LA,LV,LB,LS,LR,LY,LI,LT,LU,MO,MK,MG,MW,MY,MV,ML,MT,MH,MQ,MR,MU,YT,MX,FM,MD,MC,MN,ME,MS,MA,MZ,MM,NA,NR,NP,NL,NC,NZ,NI,NE,NG,NU,NF,KP,MP,NO,OM,PK,PW,PS,PA,PG,PY,PE,PH,PN,PL,PT,PR,QA,RE,RO,RU,RW,BL,SH,KN,LC,MF,PM,VC,WS,SM,ST,SA,SN,RS,SC,SL,SG,SX,SK,SI,SB,SO,ZA,GS,KR,SS,ES,LK,SD,SR,SJ,SZ,SE,CH,SY,TW,TJ,TZ,TH,TL,TG,TK,TO,TT,TN,TR,TM,TC,TV,UG,UA,AE,GB,US,UY,UZ,VU,VE,VN,WF,EH,YE,ZM,ZW,XK

Merdeka Cup 2023 football: India to face hosts Malaysia in semi-finals on October 13 - full schedule

Merdeka Tournament 2023 schedule and start times

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