Indian Football team’s coach Stephen Constantine announced the final 23-member squad for AFC Asian Cup 2019
The tournament will kick off from January 5 in UAE and this will be the third appearance for the Blue Tigers in the Asian Cup, which is played every four years.
“It was very important to keep on the continuity. It will be silly of me to completely change the way we do things. Most of these boys are with us for some time now,” the coach said.
The blue tigers were once the runners-up in the Asian Cup. Yes! They played the final of 1964 edition, which was their first appearance. Next, they featured in 2011. Out of 10 Asian Cup matches, they have won only two, lost seven and played a draw. Moreover, they fell short in qualifying in 2015 and after a long wait, Sunil Chhetri-led India will finally feature in the tournament.
Following are the 23-member squad for the upcoming prestigious tournament:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith, Amrinder Singh
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Sarthak Golui, Sandesh Jhingan, Anas Edathodika, Salam Ranjan Singh, Subhashish Bose, Narayan Das
Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Jackichand Singh, Germanpreet Singh, Pronay Halder, Anirudh Thapa, Vinit Rai, Rowllin Borges, Ashique Kuruniyan, Halicharan Narzary
Forwards: Sumeet Passi, Balwant Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua
2⃣3⃣-player-squad for @afcasiancup is announced
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sumeet Passi, Balwant Singh#BackTheBlue #AsianDream #BlueTigers
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) December 26, 2018
India play Oman in last preparatory friendly ahead of AFC Asian Cup
The Baniyas Stadium in Abu Dhabi will on Thursday ride in a wave of preparation for 11 men and two billion dreams, but only a part of it will witness it as India take on Oman in their final major game before the AFC Asian Cup 2019 kicks-off on the 5th of January 2019.
India last played Oman in the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 qualifiers twice, with Oman winning on both occasions. Constantine quipped, “We were very unlucky to lose the first leg in Bengaluru. That was our first group stage game in the qualifiers. But we are a much improved side now, and much younger.” Coach said
