Stimac brings in seven new faces for friendlies against Bahrain, Belarus

New Delhi, March 21

Indian men's football team head coach Igor Stimac has brought in seven new faces in the 25-member squad for the international friendlies against Bahrain and Belarus, to be played in Manama on March 23 and 26 respectively.

The newcomers included in the national squad are, Prabhshukhan Gill, Hormipam Ruivah, Anwar Ali, Roshan Singh, VP Suhair, Danish Farooq, and Aniket Yadav.

"We are playing Bahrain and Belarus, and they are better-ranked sides than us. But whatever the rankings are, you need to do it on the pitch. Bahrain will show us where we stand. We will give chances to some young players who have played well in the Hero ISL this season to see how much we can use them for the qualifiers in June," Stimac said on Monday.

The friendlies are a part of the team's preparation for the final round of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 qualifying matches which will be held in Kolkata from June 8 onwards.

India have been clubbed in Group D along with Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Cambodia. A total of 24 teams have been divided into six groups and the group winners, and the five best second-placed teams will earn a ticket to the Asian Cup in China.

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill.

Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Seriton Fernandes, Rahul Bheke, Hormipam Ruivah, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Chinglensana Singh, Subhasish Bose, Akash Mishra, Roshan Singh.

Midfielders: Bipin Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Pronay Halder, Jeakson Singh, Brandon Fernandes, VP Suhair, Danish Farooq, Yasir Mohammad, Aniket Jadhav.

Forwards: Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco, Rahim Ali.