Nine U-23 players in FC Goa squad for Hero Super Cup 2023

FC Goa have been drawn in Group C of the Hero Super Cup.

Brandon Fernandes will captain a 26-man FC Goa squad for their 2023 Hero Super Cup campaign slated to kick off in Kerala with the Gaurs playing their first game on April 10. The squad includes 10 homegrown players, including newly promoted Rayan Menezes.

Led by head coach Carlos Pena, the Men in Orange have been drawn in Group C in the Super Cup, alongside fellow-Indian Super League (ISL) sides ATK Mohun Bagan and Jamshedpur FC. I-League side Gokulam Kerala FC, who will be playing their games at their home stadium round off the group.

The regulations of the Hero Super Cup allows participating teams to register six foreign players in their respective squads. At least one such name has to be from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member nation.

Accordingly, FC Goa have registered Alvaro Vazquez, Iker Guarrotxena, Edu Bedia, Hernan Santana (all from Spain) and Noah Sadaoui (Morocco), while Fares Arnaout from Syria fulfills the AFC quota for the Club.

The Gaurs also boast one of the youngest squads in the Super Cup this season, with as many as nine U23 players making the cut.

FC Goa squad for Hero Super Cup 2023

Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Hrithik Tiwari

Defenders: Sanson Pereira, Anwar Ali, Fares Arnaout, Leander D’ Cunha, Nikhil Prabhu, Seriton Fernandes, Saviour Gama, Aibanbha Dohling, Hernan Santana, Lesly Rebello, Rayan Menezes

Midfielders: Brandon Fernandes, Ayush Chhetri, Makan Chothe, Redeem Tlang, Edu Bedia, Lenny Rodrigues, Brison Fernandes, Lalremruata HP

Forwards: Noah Sadaoui, Devendra Murgaokar, Iker Guarrotxena, Alvaro Vazquez

FC Goa, who won the Hero Super Cup in 2018-19 when the competition was last held, will play their first group stage match on April 10, when they take on Jamshedpur FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode, Kerala.

On April 14, the Gaurs will face Gokulam Kerala, and four days later, they will lock horns with ATK Mohun Bagan. The winner of each of the four groups qualifies for the semi-finals, which will take place on April 21 and 22. The final of the Hero Super Cup is scheduled for April 25 at the EMS Corporation Stadium.