Manvir Singh, Pritam Kotal dropped as India name probables for Vietnam friendlies

The squad will assemble in Kolkata for a two-day camp on September 18.

Indian senior football team head coach Igor Stimac, on Friday, September 16, 2022, named the list of 24 probables ahead of the two-day camp to be held in Kolkata from September 18, 2022. A 23-member Indian team will travel to Vietnam on September 20 to play two international friendly matches against Singapore and Vietnam to be held on September 24 and 27, respectively.

The three-team meet has been named as the Hung Thinh Friendly Football Tournament with hosts Vietnam and Singapore taking on each other in the opening match on September 21. While the champions of the round-robin meet will receive a prize money of $ 30,000, the runners-up side will take home $ 20,000. The third place too carries a prize money of $ 10,000.

“We are happy and grateful that we have received another opportunity to get together and check where we actually stand at the moment. All of us are looking forward to play the two friendly matches," head coach Igor Stimac told the AIFF media team. "This is going to be a truly exciting tour, especially three months after our qualification for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Kolkata in June this year.”

The Indian football team coach agreed to a suggestion that while his boys are yet to complete their pre-season, players in the two rival sides are already playing competitive games regularly in the domestic tournaments. “But that is not going to deter us. We will do everything possible at the moment to keep the momentum going from the June qualifiers,” Stimac said.

Meanwhile, some of the boys, like Laxmikant Kattimani, Prabhsukhran Gill, Rahul Bheke, Suresh Singh and Rahim Ali, were very much in coach’s scheme of things but could not make the current list of 24 because of injuries.

Indian football team's 24-member probable list:

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem and Amrinder Singh.

Defenders: Sandesh Jhingan, Roshan Singh Naorem, Anwar Ali, Akash Mishra, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Harmanjot Singh Khabra and Narender.

Midfielders: Liston Colaco, Muhammed Ashique Kuruniyan, Deepak Tangri, Udanta Singh Kumam, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Yasir Mohammad, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Sahal Abdul Samad, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Vikram Pratap Singh.

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri and Ishan Pandita.