Five in-form players not selected by Manolo Marquez for Indian Football Team

A list featuring five players who didn’t make the final list for the Indian Football Team.

The Indian Football team returns to action in June (2025) to continue their AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifiers, following the end of the domestic campaign. Manolo Marquez has named a pretty strong provisional squad to be gathered in Kolkata for training before the matches against Thailand and the AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong.

While Marquez has chosen a group of talented players, there are also some notable absentees from the Indian football team squad. This includes some major surprises and a case of Marquez also snubbing some in-form players from his squad as well.

Here we look at the five in-form players not selected by Marquez for the Indian Football Team squad.

5. Muhammed Uvais

Jamshedpur FC arguably overperformed expectations in the 2024-25 season. They reached the Indian Super League (ISL) semifinals, only suffering a narrow loss to champions Mohun Bagan. They also reached the Kalinga Super Cup final, where they lost to FC Goa. Defensively, the Juggernauts were a solid unit for the majority of the 2024-25 season. That was helped by the brilliant work of Muhammed Uvais in the wide areas.

The 26-year-old left-back helped them keep five clean sheets in the ISL and tormented some of the best wingers in the ISL. In 27 appearances, he made 84 clearances, 118 possession recoveries, and won 79 duels. He was an energetic force on the left for Jamshedpur.

However, he’s seen all his good work unable to earn a call-up from the Indian football team. That is despite him being one of the best left-backs in the ISL last season, as Uvais needs to do even more to get a call-up to the Indian football team squad.

4. Korou Singh

A breakout star of the 2024-25 Indian Super League season, Korou Singh was a breath of fresh air for the Kerala Blasters frontline. The 18-year-old winger tormented defenders with his speedy runs and excellent final product in the final third. He scored two goals and provided four assists in 17 ISL games for Kerala Blasters, creating 15 chances and even managing a decent 77% passing accuracy.

Korou was able to add something new to the Tuskers’ attacking style with his incisive runs and tendency to get in the right areas inside the box. Despite his impressive campaign, Singh was snubbed by Marquez for the Indian football team squad. He could’ve added something special to India’s attacking front with his exciting style, but will now need to wait even longer to represent the Blue Tigers.

3. Jerry Mawimingthanga

Jerry Mawimingthanga was one of the most prolific Indian attacking players to have featured in the 2024-25 ISL campaign. He was able to score five goals, which is one of the highest scored by Indian wingers in the league season last time around. He also grabbed a couple of assists and was able to position himself perfectly in the key attacking areas to torment Odisha FC’s opposition players.

Jerry has now gained plenty of experience at the age of 28, with his off-the-ball movement, final product and ability to dart forward with the ball all being key assets for a team like Indian football team. Despite that, he continues to be snubbed by the Indian football team and needs to work even harder to get that Indian football team call-up.

2. Jithin MS

Jithin MS’s potential was unlocked by Juan Pedro Benali at NorthEast United in the 2024-25 ISL campaign, allowing him to soar at the top. Jithin was able to thrive under the freedom he received in the Highlanders squad, scoring two goals and providing five assists in 23 appearances for NorthEast United in the ISL.

He also scored and assisted one goal apiece in the Super Cup, after also having seven goal contributions (4 goals, 3 assists) in the Durand Cup.

Jithin MS proved himself as a really versatile asset, being able to play in either of the two wings with ease and even in central areas. Despite his hard-working nature, impressive technical skills and driving nature, Jithin continues to be ignored at the international level – even though it’s high time he played for the Indian football team.

1. Brison Fernandes

FC Goa’s young winger Brison Fernandes was the breakout star of the 2024-25 Indian Football campaign. He won the ISL Emerging Player of the Season after having enjoyed a prolife campaign with the Gaurs. Brison scored seven goals in the 2024-25 ISL, which includes braces against Odisha FC and Mohun Bagan. Fernandes also played a positive part in helping FC Goa win the Kalinga Super Cup, scoring a goal in their win over the Mariners too.

He has proven himself as a reliable winger, who can really run with the ball, create chances from the wide areas and also finish off chances clinically. Despite his heroics in the 2024-25 season, Brison is not in the Indian football team squad and needs to work even harder to break through to the senior squad.

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