What steps does Brandon Fernandes need to take to enhance international career for India?

Brandon Fernandes was out of India’s AFC Asian Cup Qualifier match against Bangladesh.

The India national team return to action in June (2025) when they play two matches after the end of the domestic campaign. The Blue Tigers will be facing Thailand in a friendly match before playing Hong Kong in their second AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier clash to round off their international break.

This international window will be an ideal platform for many of the players in Manolo Marquez’s squad to prove their quality. It could even act as a last chance saloon for some individual when it comes to preserving their first-choice status in the squad. That includes the status of Brandon Fernandes in the national team.

The Mumbai City FC midfielder is arguably the biggest creative threat that the Blue Tigers squad currently has. He is blessed with innovation and unpredictability that is nearly unmatched. However, Brandon has experienced some stumbling blocks in his international career in recent years, which threaten to derail his presence in the India squad.

Here we look at the steps Brandon Fernandes must take to enhance his status in the Blue Tigers squad.

3. Prove himself as a commanding midfield figure

While Brandon Fernandes does get quite a lot of freedom whenever he plays for India, in terms of playing a more advanced midfield role to help create things, he needs to be smart with his playing style at the international stage.

That is because he cannot always be looking for that killer final pass, as that risks India losing possession and being harmed on the counter-attacks. He needs to be smart in helping his side keep possession more often. To do this, he needs to be smarter with his passes and position himself better to be available in a variety of areas.

To be a really commanding figure in the midfield for India, Brandon has to move around more smartly so teammates can find his presence whenever under pressure. This can help India tire out the opposition and for Brandon to get more of the ball, which can allow him to dictate the tempo of the game, drag the opposition’s players out of position and play those killer final passes.

2. Fix fitness issues

Brandon Fernandes might be blessed with a lot of talents, but being readily available is a vital trait that will dictate his future for the Indian team. The 30-year-old has the knack of picking up knocks or injuries, which hamper his consistency and momentum levels. That happened in India’s 3-0 win over the Maldives, where he provided an assist for the opening goal before having to be substituted in the first half because of an injury.

He missed the opening clash of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh because of that. Brandon Fernandes only missed five matches for Mumbai City in the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) season, but he did have struggles with fitness levels. He only completed the entire 90 minutes in seven games in the 2024-25 ISL campaign, not being able to maintain intensity and a major creative threat through matches.

Brandon Fernandes has to be sturdier and prove himself as a reliable figure who can be trusted to give their all throughout the 90 minutes in matches. He needs to be smart with his playing style to stop himself from tiring out or picking up injuries. That could include being smarter with his pressing or defensive contribution, or with the type of challenges he issues. Fernandes needs to be more robust and tenacious to make himself an indispensable figure for India.

1. Be more consistent with creative threat

Despite all his qualities, Brandon Fernandes will need to improve his consistency in terms of making vital goal contributions to remain a regular for India. He has eight asissts in 30 appearances for the Blue Tigers in his international career, averaging one assist in just under four games. However, his assist in the win over Maldives was his first goal contribution in his last 10 appearances for India.

Despite being given a lot of leverage to move forward, take control of set-pieces and receive the ball in key areas, Brandon Fernandes has not been a consistent goal threat for India yet. He is coming off an 2024-25 ISL campaign in which the midfielder managed just two assist in 25 appearances for Mumbai City.

He needs to significantly improve those numbers to be a vital part of the Indian side. Brandon has to be more accurate and clever with his final passes, be it from open play or set-pieces, to prove himself as a major creative threat and someone who deserves an undisputed role in Marquez’s side.

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