AIFF confirms Eurosport as broadcaster for Oman, UAE friendlies

The airing of the two games had been in limbo until just a few days ago.

The Indian Football Team will have their forthcoming international friendlies against Oman and UAE on March 25 and 29 respectively will be broadcast live in India on Eurosport, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has confirmed.

The first friendly between India and Oman, which is the Blue Tigers' first international fixture since November 2019, will take place on March 25, 2021 (Thursday) at the Maktoom Bin Rashid Stadium in Dubai.

India will then face hosts UAE in a friendly match on March 29, 2021 (Monday) at the Zabeel Stadium in Dubai.

Head coach Igor Stimac has named a 27-member squad that is currently training in Dubai, with the team having arrived in the city on March 15, 2021.

Khel Now had earlier reported how the federation was in a last-minute scramble to secure the airing of the two games in the country. This was followed by news that the broadcast of the game against hosts UAE had been secured. Now, the federation has confirmed the televising of both matches.

The Blue Tigers will return to action for the first time in over a year and it will be a tough couple of games for Igor Stimac's men ahead of their remaining FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in June. The team are already without talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri, who recently tested positive for COVIS-19. Meanwhile, speedster Udanta Singh was omitted from the squad after a mediocre season in the recently-concluded Indian Super League.

The 27-member squad is as follows:

GOALKEEPERS: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Subhashish Roy Chowdhury, Dheeraj Singh.

DEFENDERS: Ashutosh Mehta, Akash Mishra, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Singh, Adil Khan, Mandar Rao Dessai, Mashoor Shereef.

MIDFIELDERS: Rowllin Borges, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Raynier Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Bipin Singh, Yasir Mohammad, Suresh Singh, Halicharan Narzary, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan.

FORWARDS: Manvir Singh, Ishan Pandita, Hitesh Sharma, Liston Colaco.

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