India's squad for Panama, Brazil & Uruguay friendlies: What works & what raises concerns?

India will play three friendlies against FIFA World Cup nations in the September-October window.

The Indian men’s senior football team are locked in for a blockbuster September-October FIFA International Match Window as the Blue Tigers will play three FIFA World Cup nations, Panama, Brazil and Uruguay during the window.

Khalid Jamil’s side will play Panama on September 26 in Bengaluru at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium before taking on five-time world champions Brazil on October 3rd and two-time world champions Uruguay on October 6, both scheduled to be played at the VYBK Stadium in Kolkata.

With just 26 days remaining for the first fixture against Panama, Khalid Jamil announced his 26-player squad for the September-October FIFA window with the preparatory camp set to begin on September 14th in Bengaluru.

The squad selection by the India head coach Khalid Jamil received mixed reactions from the Indian football fans. Some praised the selection, while some were still very confused and hesitant.

As India gear up for playing three FIFA World Cup nations in less than a month, we will take a closer look at what works, what raises question and what could ultimately prove to be costly for this selection done by head coach Khalid Jamil.

Moving on from Sandesh Jhingan

Sandesh Jhingan has been one of India’s most reliable players in the last 4-5 years and has displayed strong performances for the Blue Tigers over the years.

However, the 33-year-old centre-back who has played more than 70 games for the Blue Tigers has not been called up by head coach Khalid Jamil for the Panama, Brazil and Uruguay friendlies.

This comes as a surprise for almost all Indian football fans as Sandesh has been outstanding for the Blue Tigers. While age may have been a factor, Sandesh Jhingan’s omission seems to be very surprising especially keeping in mind the quality opponents India are going to play.

The centre-back has been solid against quality opponents like Australia, Qatar etc. and other teams as well despite the results and has consistently provided solidity, leadership and quality to the backline and perhaps with his omission, the backline of the Blue Tigers become rather inexperienced.

The decision to call up new and young players is absolutely spot on from Khalid Jamil, however, not having a leader like Sandesh Jhingan who has consistently played well to guide the youngsters is very confusing.

Perhaps Khalid Jamil has decided to move on from Sandesh Jhingan, who has been a long serving player of the Indian football team. And if this is indeed the case, it marks a significant shift in Khalid Jamil’s approach.

Senior players dropped as a major restructuring begins

One major talking point from this squad selection by Khalid Jamil is the omission of key senior national team players, not in terms of just age but also the time they have spent in the national team.

Rahul Bheke, Liston Colaco, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Jeakson Singh, Vishal Kaith and Sandesh Jhingan are some notable omissions from Khalid Jamil’s squad this time. While some of it absolutely makes sense, some are still very questionable.

Rahul Bheke’s omission in particular makes complete sense. The 35-year-old defender has played 50 games for the Blue Tigers and has been very poor in the last few games, making this omission completely valid.

Similarly, the omission of 27-year-old attacker, Liston Colaco also seems understandable as he has performed poorly for India so far. With 34 international caps to his name, Liston has only scored one goal for the Blue Tigers and has even struggled to perform in the ISL for the last few seasons.

Jeakson Singh has also played 32 games for the senior national team and has been a starter for them. However, he has failed to impress at the international level and perhaps even his omission from the squad makes sense.

However, Lallianzuala Chhangte is slightly a different case. The 29-year-old right winger was recently named the FPAI player of the year and was the highest Indian goalscorer in ISL 2025-26 season. But the star who was once considered to take charge from Sunil Chhetri, has been very average for the national team scoring just 9 times in 55 appearances.

A case could be made that he deserved to get a callup but maybe Khalid Jamil has started to look for options in the wide area for a longer run now.

Sandesh Jhingan and Vishal Kaith are two other big omissions from the squad, with Jhingan’s case separately discussed above.

Also Read: ISL clubs’ contribution to India’s Sep-Oct FIFA international window squad: A club-wise breakdown

Slim squad selection

One major concern around the squad selection is the relatively small size of the squad. Khalid Jamil has named just 26-players squad for the preparatory camp which will be followed by tough friendlies against FIFA World Cup nations, leaving very less room for improvement or changes if an injury concern arises.

Four players have been named as reserves — goalkeeper Hrithik Tiwari, defenders Chinglensana Singh Konsham and Roshan Singh Naorem, and midfielder Suresh Singh Wangjam — and may be called up to the squad if required.

However, these players are not part of the main squad at the moment, meaning that if multiple players get injured during the camp, Khalid Jamil could possibly find himself short of options to tackle the situation.

The concern is major and big especially since multiple players will be joining the camp with very less preseason minutes and match sharpness. And if the players arrive unfit or maybe pick an injury during the camp, Khalid will not have options to have like to like changes especially in the midfield and forward line.

With more than 10 days of camp available, Khalid Jamil could have called a slightly bigger squad and later decided the final squad based on the performance during the camp.

Multiple players left out despite strong form

While it has to be agreed that Khalid Jamil has called up youngsters for the upcoming friendlies, it cannot be denied that multiple players who performed really well for their clubs have been left out.

With Khalid Jamil looking to introduce fresh faces in the squad, this could have been the perfect opportunity to callup some of the players who gave been performing well for their clubs.

Players like Fanai, Hnamte, Joseph Sunny, Noufal, Bipin Singh and David Lalhansanga have been exceptionally well for their clubs, yet none of them made the squad.

Hnamte who has been in sublime form for SC Delhi after recently joining them from Chennaiyin FC is a player who surely deserved the callup. Hnamte has been very good in the last few seasons and even led the U-23 national team recently under head coach Naushad Moosa.

Similar is the case for Bipin Singh, who despite being 32 has been very well for East Bengal FC and played a key role in their ISL 2025-26 triumph.

Other youngsters like Fanai, Joseph Sunny, Noufal and David Lalhansanga also deserved a chance, considering their performances in the last few matches.

The biggest opportunity with these friendlies is to test new faces who can potentially become important figures in the national team. While the squad does contain new faces, the absence of several in form players raises several questions.

Also Read: Top three new faces in Indian football team squad for September-October FIFA window

Mixed signals from Khalid Jamil

Khalid Jamil’s squad selection for the upcoming friendlies sends two completely different messages. On one hand the head coach seems determined to move away from some of the established names in the national team to give young players an opportunity and build for the future.

However, some of the other selections make this a little confusing and send a completely different message. Players such as Rahim Ali, Farukh Choudhary and Vikram Partap Singh have all retained their spots in the squad despite being below average for the Blue Tigers.

All of the three players have had enough opportunities to prove themselves in the national team, but their performances have been very poor for the Blue Tigers and at the club level as well. And despite that, Khalid Jamil continues to trust these players.

These spots could have easily been given to players who have performed and proven themselves day in and day out. If Khalid Jamil is actually selecting players based on recent performances and for the future, these inclusions send a very contradicting message.

Of course, a head coach cannot completely move away from the existing set up directly, however these selections over some in form players make absolutely no sense.

So, one thing that we can take away from this squad selection is that Khalid Jamil seems ready to make changes and build for a future, however, he is not yet ready to completely move away from his old guard.

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