Football
Igor Stimac announces 25-man India squad for World Cup Qualifiers vs Kuwait, Qatar
Vikram Pratap Singh, Glan Martins and Nandhakumar Sekar were dropped from the Indian squad for the matches against Kuwait and Qatar.
FILE PHOTO: Sunil Chhetri in action during the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru. (Photo Credit: AIFF)
Indian national men's football team head coach Igor Stimac announced a 25-member squad for FIFA World Cup Qualifier matches against Kuwait and Qatar.
Vikram Pratap Singh, Glan Martins and Nandhakumar Sekar were dropped.
The Indian team will play Group A opponent Kuwait, ranked 136th, on Thursday in the second round of qualifiers in an away game.
India will take on Qatar on November 21 in Bhubaneswar. The Men in Blue will play Afghanistan in its final group game.
The top two teams from the group will qualify for the third qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and earn a direct entry in the 2027 AFC Asian Cup to be held in Saudi Arabia.
While the Indian men’s football team has made four appearances at the Olympic Games, it has never qualified for the main draw of the FIFA World Cup.
Indian squad:
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Vishal Kaith
Defenders: Akash Mishra, Lalchungnunga, Mehtab Singh, Nikhil Poojary, Rahul Bheke, Roshan Singh Naorem, Sandesh Jhingan and Subhashish Bose
Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes, Apuia, Liston Colaco, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Rohit Kumar, Sahal Abdul Samad, Suresh Singh Wangjam and Udanta Singh Kumam
Forwards: Ishan Pandita, Lalianzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh, Rahul KP and Sunil Chhetri
