Indian Men’s National Football Team coach Khalid Jamil has finalised a 26-player squad for the marquee FIFA international friendly against Brazil at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan or the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on October 3, Saturday. The Blue Tigers’ one of three international friendly matches will be against five-time FIFA World Cup champions Brazil, with the other two set to be against Panama and Uruguay.
The three matches will provide India with valuable opportunities to test themselves against World Cup opposition, with all three nations having featured at the FIFA World Cup held earlier this year, as per a press release from the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Jamil’s side will begin their preparatory camp on September 14 in Bengaluru. After the match against Panama, the Blue Tigers will travel to Kolkata on September 28 for their remaining two fixtures.
India’s 26-player squad for the September-October FIFA men’s international friendlies
Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Som Kumar.
Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bijoy Varghese, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Jay Gupta, Pramveer, Ricky Meetei Haobam.
Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Farukh Choudhary, Lalengmawia Ralte, Macarton Nickson, Mohammed Sanan, Ricky Shabong, Sahal Abdul Samad.
Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Ryan Williams, Vikram Partap Singh.
Head coach: Khalid Jamil
Earlier, a quarter of reserve players were also named in the form of goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari, defenders Chinglensana Singh Konsham and Roshan Singh Naorem, and midfielder Suresh Singh Wangjam. They maybe later called up to the squad, in case of any injury or unavailability of a player due to some other reason.
Indian men’s national team’s schedule:
September 26: India vs Panama (Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru)
October 3: India vs Brazil (Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata)
October 6: India vs Uruguay (Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata).
Brazil’s manager Carlos Ancelotti, meanwhile, has also named a full-strength squad, comprising Raphina, Vinícius Júnior, Joao Pedro among them.
Brazil Squad: Hugo Souza, Pedro Morisco, Otavio, Arthur Dias, Douglas Santos, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jair, Marquinhos, Matheuzinho, Mauro Junior, Vitor Reis, Wesley, Andrey Santos, Breno Bidon, Bruno Guimaraes, Danilo Santos, Douglas Luiz, Gabriel Bontempo, Endrick, Estevao, Joao Pedro, Pedro, Raphinha, Rayan, Samuel Lino, Vinicius Junior.
(With inputs from ANI)
