Igor Stimac announces first list of 26 probables for Bhubaneswar camp. football news

Indian senior men’s team head coach Igor Stimac on Saturday, May 4, 2024, announced his first list of 26 probables for the Bhubaneswar camp in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 matches against Kuwait and Qatar. The second list of probables will be announced in a few days. India will begin their training camp in the Odisha capital on May 10. The Blue Tigers will face Kuwait in Kolkata on June 6 before facing Qatar in Doha on June 11 in their last two matches of Group A.

India are currently second in the group with four points from four matches. The top two teams of the group will qualify for the Round 3 of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and book their place at the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027.

India’s quest to make it to the third round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 preliminary joint qualifiers suffered a blow when they lost 1-2 to Afghanistan. At half-time the winning team was trailing 0-1.

Due to the loss of three points in this home match, India finished second in the four-team Round 2 group with only four points from four matches. While Qatar top the group with nine points from three matches, Afghanistan also have four points from the same number of matches.

India still has two more matches in hand. Although it will be a tough task to beat Asian champions Qatar in an away match, India’s hopes could ultimately be dashed in the match against Kuwait on June 6. But Afghanistan can definitely aspire to overtake India in the points table.

First list of 26 probables for Bhubaneswar camp:

Goalkeeper: Amarinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

guard: Amey Ganesh Ranawade, Jai Gupta, Lalchungnunga, Muhammad Hammad, Narendra, Nikhil Pujari, Roshan Singh Naorem.

Midfielder: Brandon Fernandes, Edmund Lalrindika, Imran Khan, Issac Wanlalruatfela, Jackson Singh Thounaojam, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Mohammad Yasir, Nandkumar Sekar, Rahul Cannoli Praveen, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Vibin Mohanan.

Ahead: David Lalhlansanga, Jithin Madathil Subran, Lalrinzuala, Parthib Sundar Gogoi, Rahim Ali, Sunil Chhetri.

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