Intercontinental Cup: Indian football team's new head coach Manolo Marquez names 26 probables
The tri-nation Intercontinental Cup will be held in Hyderabad, from September 3 to September 9. Syria, occupying 93rd spot in the latest FIFA rankings, and Mauritius, the 179th ranked side in the world, are the other two teams competing in the tournament.
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FollowIndia men's national football team's new head coach Manolo Marquez, on Wednesday (August 21), announced a list of 26 probables for preparatory camp for the tri-nation Intercontinental Cup to be held in Hyderabad, from September 3 to September 9. Syria, occupying 93rd spot in the latest FIFA rankings, and Mauritius, the 179th ranked side in the world, are the other two teams competing in the tournament.
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India, are the reigning champions, having defeated Lebanon 2-0 in the final at Kalinga Stadium in Odisha last year. The Blue Tigers will begin their title-defence against Mauritius on September 3, before facing Syria six days later. It will be Marquez's first assignment with the Indian team, having taken charge in July 2024.
Marquez is well versed with Indian football, having coached Indian Super League side Hyderabad FC for three years (2020-23), before switching to FC Goa last summer. The 55-year-old tactician has played a key role in the development of exciting Indian players like, Ashish Rai, Liston Colaco, Akash Mishra and Nikhil Poojary among others. “We are very excited about our first preparatory camp and I know it will be the same for the players.” said Marquez announcing the squad.
“We face two different teams and the rankings are not very important. We need to work all together in the same direction to find the correct group of players and their predisposition will be very good, something I am completely sure about,” he said.
“I know all of us are in pre-season with nice challenges in front of us. Is a big honour to wear the jersey of the national team and we need to show it to all our fans,” Marquez added.
The 26-player list:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh, Amrinder Singh, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill.
Defenders: Nikhil Poojary, Rahul Bheke, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Roshan Singh Naorem, Anwar Ali, Jay Gupta, Ashish Rai, Subhasish Bose, Mehtab Singh.
Midfielders: Suresh Singh Wangjam, Jeakson Singh, Nandhakumar Sekar, Naorem Mahesh Singh, Yasir Mohammad, Lalengmawia Ralte, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Lalthathanga Khawlhring.
Forwards: Kiyan Nassiri Giri, Edmund Lalrindika, Manvir Singh, Liston Colaco.
Intercontinental Cup fixtures (all matches will kick-off at 7.30 pm):
September 3: India vs Mauritius
September 6: Syria vs Mauritius
September 9: India vs Syria
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