Kolkata. Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh is not very excited about the presence of low -ranked rivals in his group in the final round of the Asian Cup football qualifier. He said that when the hosts start their campaign on June 8, they will have to respect the opponents and also have to adopt a ruthless attitude against them. India is placed in Group D with lower ranked Hong Kong (147), Afghanistan (150) and Cambodia (171).

The world ranked 106 -ranked Indian team is a strong contender to make it to the main draw of the 2023 Asian Cup. 30 -year -old Gurpreet said on the website of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), 'There is no draw in modern football. We have to show respect for our rivals.

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Gurpreet said, of course, they are also preparing for these 3 matches and everyone can understand that like us they have also worked hard. We cannot take anyone lightly, not at all in this phase because a lot is at stake. We need to adopt a ruthless attitude towards the teams that we have to play against.

After launching a campaign against Cambodia, India has to face Afghanistan on June 11 and then Hong Kong on 14 June. The third and final round qualifiers of the Asian Cup 2023 are at stake. A total of 24 teams are participating in the qualifier, which are divided into 6 groups of four teams. All six groups are happening in different countries of the continent as compared to the six groups.

6 Group winners and 5 best teams to finish second will qualify in the main tournament. Gurpreet said, 'We have to ensure that we land on the field to achieve the result. I believe that our team should be such that AFC Asian Cup 2023 from this group. Sunil Chhetri and his team were eliminated from the group stage of the 2019 Asian Cup. The team now has a chance to qualify for this top competition of continent from Group D again.