Naushad Moosa exude confidence ahead of India U23 team's crucial tri-nation test in Arunachal

The India U23 team will play Bhutan and Tajikistan on March 28 and March 31

The Indian U23 men’s national team is set to take charge in the Tri-Nation friendly tournament against Bhutan and Tajikistan. The matches will be played from March 25 to 31, 2026, in Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh, during the FIFA International break.

The India U23 team will play their two matches on March 28 and 31 at the Golden Jubilee Stadium from 19:00 IST. This will be the second time that Arunachal will be set to host International football.

Before the match, India U23 head coach Naushad Moosa addressed the media in the pre-match press conference. Here is the detailed report on this.

Naushad Moosa gives gratitude to host a tournament like this

India U23 men’s national team head coach Naushad Moosa as he highlighted the things about Arunachal Pradesh and the upbringing of football. He first spoke loudly about hosting a tri-nation cup like this, as he mentioned that tournaments like this would help them a lot to develop Indian football.

“I would like to say thank you to the association Arunachal Football association for hosting us you know this is something very good for the national team to have such games and the way we have got the support from Mr keeper so it’s it’s really good and definitely you guys must be expecting good football and yes we have a very strong team so you will definitely get to watch some exciting games and.”

Reflecting on the recent challenges and climate change ahead of the Tri-nation tournament against Bhutan and Tajikistan, as there was heavy rainfall in Arunachal Pradesh.

Naushad Moosa stated, “If it rains, we don’t have any problems. They love to play in the rain. As I said, I have only 5 new players in this squad. Before the Thiland, I had 10 new players. We have to adapt. And when we were talking about the national team, we first saw the quality. It doesn’t take much time to adapt. It’s not that difficult. We keep it very simple so the players get to each other.”

Football and International relationships

“When we are in the ground, there will be no more friends. But this is how you build relationships with nations. I know the team that played last, how they play, and Tomorrow we will know how the opposition plays. As per friendship, this is more like a political matter. We have 8-10 players from the Northeast. 4 players from Mizoram, 5 from Manipur.”

“NorthEast players are very hardworking”: Naushad Moosa

Ahead of the two clash in the tri-nation tournament against Bhutan and Tajikistan, India U23 head coach has proclaimed about how good the NorthEast regional players are, as the current India U23 men’s team has many players from the mountain side. Moosa stated about their optimistic approach and hardworking nature regarding the game.

“I am with NorthEast United FC also. I worked with them, the youth team. Talking about the Northeast players, they are very good, very hardworking, compared to the other states. When it comes to football, it’s all about decision-making and mental readiness. We need to work a lot with the U13 and U15 teams to develop our football. We need to plan accordingly. We work with the Arunachal Football Association and the Meghalaya Football Association, and we need to develop the coaches and then the players. When you have quality coaches, you have quality players. This is the only way we can move forward.”

“There were three or four players who had played in the ISL, but didn’t have that much game time. Then, when you build the National team, the problem is the preparation time. We got 3 days of that; the preparation time was short, and I didn’t do any kind of experiments. I have been following them now, whenever they play, I will be there. I got the players who were with me. They are very good talents.”

Road to the World Cup

The India U23 head coach asked about the World Cup dream with the Indian side one day. Answering this optimistic question regarding the FIFA World Cup, he said about the long-term focus to be there one day.

“See , I was talking about Arunachal Football, we need to have a long term plan. Before thinking about the World Cup, we need to focus on becoming the best in Asia.if we are best in Asia, then definitely. There were many teams, Japan, Saudi, Iran , Iraq, we needed to have good games against them. These young players need games, again not in 10 years. Focus will be the best in Asia.”

Importance of the tournament

India U23 captain Lalrinliana Hnamte spoke about the importance of the games against Bhutan and Tajikistan in the next matches. He and his teams have some unfinished work that they need to achieve by these matches.

“This tournament, especially for me, is very important and very challenging for us and for me also. For the team, this is how we come back. We did not achieve our goals, let’s say the AFC Cup, but this is the time we need to show what we really are. This is a high time for us to show how capable we are.”

Fixtures

Match number	Date	Team 1	Team 2	Time	Venue
1	25 March 2026	Bhutan	Tajikistan	7 PM IST	GJ Outdoor Stadium, Yupia
2	28 March 2026	India	Bhutan	7 PM IST	GJ Outdoor Stadium, Yupia
3	31 March 2026	India	Tajikistan	7 PM IST	GJ Outdoor Stadium, Yupia

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