Fresh from the Durand Cup triumph with Bengaluru FC, veteran Sunil Chhetri will lead the Indian assault within the upcoming Hung Thinh pleasant soccer event in Vietnam, as coach Igor Stimac on Tuesday named a 23-member squad.
The Indian soccer group will play towards hosts Vietnam and Singapore in two friendlies in Ho Chi Minh City. The squad left for Vietnam on Tuesday. Head coach Igor Stimac is upbeat about India’s possibilities within the two matches. “We are definitely capable of winning the tournament, but I think it’s the small things that will decide who win it,” mentioned Stimac.”Obviously, Vietnam have a variety of momentum with their performances within the final couple of years. They have group, and are enjoying at dwelling, which is why they’re most likely the favorites, however we even have probability as we now have a younger squad.
“I think we have enough quality to match them, and if we stay positive and play with a good mindset, we can do it,” he added.
While the boldness within the squad is excessive, Stimac was cautious of the truth that most of his gamers are nonetheless in pre-season mode proper now, and that rotation can be the order of the day for the Blue Tigers.
🚨 SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨
Here are the two️⃣3️⃣ #BlueTigers 🐯 🇮🇳 who will journey to Vietnam 🇻🇳 to participate within the Hung Thinh Friendly Football Tournament 🙌#AgainTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/4Ac5D4hDVJ
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) September 20, 2022
“It’s a good challenge for us, though we need to make sure that we combine and rotate our players in a proper way. We need to make sure that nobody gets injured, because most of the players we have are still in pre-season mode, and they need to be nurtured,” mentioned Stimac.
“We need to be careful because we are facing two sides that are in full swing competitions.” However, the Indian group has sufficient momentum to not be too nervous about that in the intervening time, feels the 55-year-old.
“With regards to the momentum that we have after the June AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers (India beat Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong in back-to-back matches), the optimism is high and the positiveness which currently surrounds the team should only bode well for us.”
While there are a few new faces are within the Blue Tigers squad, the top coach has not closed the doorways on any participant that’s not with the group at present. It is extra a matter of making an attempt out numerous methods with a pool of round 40 gamers, in preparation for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. “Nobody has been excluded. My precise record accommodates of 40 gamers, and it’s simply because to the scenario of the event that I can solely select 23 of them. My technical workers and I felt that this set of gamers had been one of the best suited and most appropriate for the 2 upcoming matches.
“This is how we learn more about the players. Of course I had meetings with all my players before this, I had communicated to them as to why we are going with this current list. Everyone who is not on the list knows why he isn’t on it.” The 23-player record is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem and Amrinder Singh.
Defenders: Sandesh Jhingan, Roshan Singh Naorem, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Harmanjot Singh Khabra and Narender.
Midfielders: Liston Colaco, Muhammed Ashique Kuruniyan, Vikram Partap Singh, Udanta Singh Kumam, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Yasir Mohammad, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Sahal Abdul Samad, Rahul Kannoly Praveen and Lallianzuala Chhangte.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri and Ishan Pandita.
