• Source:JND
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AFC Asian Cup 2023: The Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac announced India’s 26-member squad for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 on Saturday, December 30.

India have been drawn in Group B and will take on Australia, Uzbekistan, and Syria as they will be marking their fifth appearance in the all-important tournament.

Familiar and key names Sunil Chhetri, Sandesh Jhinghan, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu are part of the 26-member squad with the former leading the side.

Central defender Anwar Ali missed out on the final squad due to an ankle injury.

 

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On the other hand, Sahal Abdul Samad managed to make it to the squad but Jeakson Singh and Glan Martins missed out due to issues related to fitness.

"All these boys are very similar in terms of football quality. We are a team, a family. But no matter the talent, if there is no character, nothing can be achieved," Stimac said.

Sharing the areas he would want to improve upon ahead of the tournament, Stimac said, "The things we are looking to work on are defensive compactness, offensive transitions, and the set pieces, mostly. It will be very important to work on man-marking inside the box because I was not happy with that part of our game. In the last few games, we started leaking some unnecessary goals inside the box."

The Blue Tigers had a memorable outing in the year 2023, having won three titles which will be key for the confidence heading into the tournament like the AFC Asian Cup.

The year began with a victorious campaign at the Tri-Nation Series where India got the better of Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan.

They followed it with another impressive performance at the 2023 Intercontinental Cup, winning the tournament with a win over Lebanon in the final to lift the trophy for the second time.

The major achievement of the year came with the 2023 SAFF Championship where they put up a dominant performance, winning their ninth SAFF title after emerging victorious against teams like arch-rivals Pakistan and Nepal before getting the better of Kuwait in the summit clash

The Indian team is familiar with the conditions in Qatar, having played four of their 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers matches there, including two against the hosts.

Meanwhile, Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu were part of the Indian squad at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup which was also held in Qatar. Chhetri scored a goal each against Bahrain and South Korea.

 

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India’s squad for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023

Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith.

Defenders: Akash Mishra, Lalchungnunga, Mehtab Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Pritam Kotal, Rahul Bheke, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose.

Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Deepak Tangri, Lalengmawia Ralte, Liston Colaco, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Sahal Abdul Samad, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Udanta Singh.

Forwards: Ishan Pandita, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Sunil Chhetri, Vikram Partap Singh.