The Indian Under-23 national team departed for Qatar after a 5-day preparatory camp held in Tilak Maidan, Goa.
Derrick Pereira zeroed down on the list of 23 players for the clash against the U-23 side of reigning AFC Asian Cup Champions Qatar on March 11 at the Aspire Academy ground in Doha. 11 players were called up from the Indian Arrows team.
Pereira said, “They (young players) are our future. It’s not only about the match against Qatar or the U-23 Championship qualifiers. We should have a long term plan for them so that they can excel in future. The experience of representing the nation in the U17 Fifa World Cup would help them improve on and off the pitch. If they are provided with the right kind of experience and exposure regularly, India football will go a long way.”
“We are primarily focusing on finding the right combination and our style of game. Uzbekistan are the reigning U-23 Asian champions and Tajikistan are a respectable side as well who we’re going to face in the qualifiers. We can gauge ourselves after the Qatar game and as I’ve said, we’ll focus more on our game rather than our opponents”, Pereira stated. Ashique Kuruniyan, Hitesh Sharma and Jerry Lalrinzuala were ruled out due to injuries.
The 23-member-squad is as follows:
GOALKEEPERS: Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill
DEFENDERS: Narender, Sarthak Golui, Wungngayam Muirang, Mehtab Singh, Anwar Ali, Asish Rai
MIDFIELDERS: Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Vinit Rai, Sahal Abdul, Amarjit Singh, Deepak Tangri, Rohit Kumar, Suresh Singh, Komal Thatal, Boris Singh, Rahul KP
FORWARDS: Liston Colaco, Daniel Lalhlimpuia, Rahim Ali, Rohit Danu
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