CHENNAI: Indian men's national team head coach Khalid Jamil named his 26-player squad for the three international friendlies against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay scheduled for September-October
Notable names like Sandesh Jhinghan and LZ Chhangte miss out.
The Blue Tigers will play three international friendlies against higher-ranked opposition, facing Panama on September 26 in Bengaluru before taking on five-time world champions Brazil on October 3 and two-time world champions Uruguay on October 6, both in Kolkata.
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.
Four players have been named as reserves — goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari, defenders Chinglensana Singh Konsham and Roshan Singh Naorem, and midfielder Suresh Singh Wangjam — and may be called up to the squad if required.
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)
Blue Colts grab 1-0 win
India emerged victorious in their opening AFC U20 Asian Cup qualifiers match against Syria at the Do’stlik Stadium in Tashkent. In a game where India had less of the ball and could not control most of the match, Shami Singamayum scored the decisive goal, with four minutes left on the clock. He finished a fine move involving substitute Md Arbash. It marked India's first-ever competitive win over Syria in the U19/U20 age group.