Indian Football Team: India’s Best Starting Eleven For Friendlies vs Singapore & Vietnam

What Is The 23-Man-Squad Selected By Igor Stimac?

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, Vikram Partap Singh, Udanta Singh Kumam, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Yasir Mohammad, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Sahal Abdul Samad, Rahul Kannoly Praveen and Lallianzuala Chhangte.

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri and Ishan Pandita.

Also read: A Proud Moment For Indian Football As India Qualify For The AFC Asian Cup 2023 In Style

Who Are The Notable Absentees?

There are a few notable absentees from the squad, with a lot of regular faces not picked for various reasons. Midfield engines Suresh Singh and Glan Martins and defender Rahul Bheke are out with injuries, along with the young striker, Rahim Ali.

The most surprising one is Manvir Singh. The versatile attacker has been a mainstay in the national team under Stimac, but his form domestically has declined massively. As a result, he has been dropped from the side, which has become one of the biggest talking points amongst the fans.

Even though he is not a prolific goalscorer, he is a useful player in certain situations. Manvir provides a different dimension and allows his side to play more direct due to his aerial dominance. However, as we witnessed in the AFC qualifiers in June, Stimac wants to play fast, dynamic and quick football which doesn’t necessarily suit Manvir Singh, while Ishan Pandita is more suited to passing football.

What Is India’s Best Starting Eleven For The Hung Thinh Championship?

Considering the squad Stimac has picked for the Hung Thinh Championship, this is potentially the best starting lineup for the two games. We saw how effective Liston Colaco was in the no.10 position, which was quite surprising at first but was working well. In between the lines, Liston was causing constant problems for the opposition.

However, Sahal is probably more naturally suited to that position due to his creativity. Brandon is another exceptional creator, but Stimac has always used him as a deeper midfielder from where he struggles to impact the game. Overall, a lot of it also depends on the situation Stimac faces, as he has got quality options to break teams down.

In the midfield pivot, Brandon could partner with Thapa. However, as mentioned above, that’s not his best position, and Jeakson is excellent when it comes to having a box-to-box midfielder. Thapa starting is as certain as anything due to his experience and adaptability in various situations.

Both Akash Mishra and Roshan Singh were absolutely brilliant in the qualifiers. Their attacking contributions, as well as defensive robustness, made the fans fall in love with the full-back pair. Both are very young and quality full-backs, with Roshan just coming back after completing the Durand Cup triumph with Bengaluru FC, along with Chettri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

Based on Stimac’s display in the qualifiers, we expect a similar approach again. However, he has the tendency to suddenly change things unnecessarily. But that being said, after the success in qualifiers, fans are now expecting some consistency from the Croatian manager.

What Did Igor Stimac Say Ahead Of The Vietnam Clash?

When asked if India could win the tournament, Stimac said, “We are definitely capable of winning the tournament, but I think it’s the small things that will decide who win it.”

“Obviously, Vietnam have a lot of momentum with their performances in the last couple of years. They have a good team and are playing at home, which is why they are probably the favourites, but we also have a good chance as we have a young squad.”

“I think we have enough quality to match them, and if we stay positive and play with a good mindset, we can do it.”

The Indian National Team’s coach also eluded to the fact that he hasn’t closed the door for any of the players he didn’t select for this set of games.

The 55-year-old said, “Nobody has been excluded. My actual list contains of 40 players, and it is just because of the situation of the tournament that I can only choose 23 of them. My technical staff and I felt that this set of players were the best suited and most compatible for the two upcoming matches.”

“This is how we learn more about the players. Of course, I had meetings with all my players before this, I had communicated to them as to why we are going with this current list. Everyone who is not on the list knows why he isn’t on it.  But everyone is preparing for March.”

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