The Indian national football team’s head coach, Igor Stimac has announced his 26-member squad for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint second round Qualifiers against Afghanistan and Oman. The Blue Tigers will be on the road for both of these matches, beginning with a trip to face the Afghans on 14 November at the Central Republican Stadium. Five days later, Stimac’s men will play Oman at the Al-Seeb Stadium.

So far, the team has accumulated two points from three fixtures, with the draw against Bangladesh on October 15 being their last encounter in Group E. India are currently fourth in the group, while Afghanistan and Oman find themselves in third and second, respectively.

Having kept a watchful eye on the proceedings in Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL) 2019-20 so far, Stimac has rewarded players who have begun the campaign on a strong note. Besides the ever-present Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Amrinder Singh, the Croat has also named ATK’s Dheeraj Singh amongst his group. Mumbai City FC’s Sarthak Golui is also one of those who has been named after a strong start to the season. Adil Khan, Rahul Bheke and Pritam Kotal will represent experience in the backline.

Moving into the midfield and final-third, FC Goa’s new signing, Seiminlen Doungel and Jamshedpur’s Farukh Choudhary are the two names who immediately catch the eye. Sahal Abdul Samad, Brandon Fernandes, Udanta Singh and the ever-green Sunil Chhetri will once again burden most of the attacking responsibility.

Here’s the full 26-member list:

Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Dheeraj Singh

Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Nishu Kumar, Rahul Bheke, Anas Edathodika, Narender Gahlot, Adil Khan, Sarthak Golui, Subhasish Bose, Mandar Rao Dessai

Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Jackichand Singh, Seiminlen Doungel, Raynier Fernandes, Vinit Rai, Sahal Abdul Samad, Pronay Halder, Anirudh Thapa, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Brandon Fernandes, Ashique Kuruniyan

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh, Farukh Choudhary