National coach of the Indian football team Stephen Constantine on Wednesday announced his probable squad of 28 players for the Blue Tigers’ upcoming friendly against Puerto Rico on September 3 at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai. The match is set to be a landmark event as it will be Mumbai’s first official international match in over 61 years with the last coming all the way back in 1955 against then USSR.It will also be the Blue Tigers’ first ever match against a team from the CONCACAF region. Puerto Rico are currently ranked 114th as per the FIFA rankings with India not too far behind in the 152nd spot.“It’s a hugely important match for the people in Maharashtra that international football is back in Mumbai after a long gap. Mumbai, as vibrant as ever, has been known for its football culture and I hope the Indian fans will be turning up to support and cheer from the stands. It’s important that we have a good crowd,” Constantine told the official AIFF website when asked about the excitement and important of the match.He added: “The buzz in Mumbai is something that the team is looking forward to. Personally for me, all the cosmopolitan cities of the country should be ready to host the national team.”Constantine also revealed that the selected players will have to report to the national camp on August 28 with practice sessions beginning from the following day. He also made it clear that he was expecting nothing less than an “extremely tough” match against Puerto Rico.“Puerto Rico were the best movers in the FIFA rankings in July 2016. I have been watching some of their matches and they boast about a lot of players who play in quality leagues all over the world including Europe and the USA. They are a country similar to Guam. It’s an American colony and are a very good side. It will be a very tough game and we hope we can put up a good performance,” said Constantine.Hero ISL superstars feature heavily in the probables list with Subrata Paul (NorthEast United FC) and Amrinder Singh (Atlético de Kolkata) set to star in goal. The defence will be bolstered by the likes of Sandesh Jhingan (Kerala Blasters FC), Arnab Mondal (Atlético de Kolkata), Pritam Kotal (Atlético de Kolkata) and Narayan Das (FC Pune City). The midfield and frontline will see familiar faces in Eugeneson Lyngdoh (FC Pune City), Dhanpal Ganesh (Chennaiyin FC), Pronay Halder (Mumbai City FC), Jackichand Singh (Mumbai City FC), Bikash Jairu (Atlético de Kolkata), Mohammed Rafique (Kerala Blasters FC), Sunil Chhetri (Mumbai City FC) and Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC) leading the way.Here is the full list of the 28 players:GOALKEEPERS: Subrata Paul, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh.DEFENDERS: Rino Anto, Sandesh Jhingan, Arnab Mondal, Keegan Pereira, Chinglensana Singh, Pritam Kotal, Narayan Das, Fulganco Cardozo.MIDFIELDERS: Vinit Rai, Eugeneson Lyngdoh, Dhanpal Ganesh, Pronay Halder, Jackichand Singh, Isaac Vanmalsawma, Bikash Jairu, Udanta Singh, Halicharan Narzary, Rowlin Borges, Alwyn George, Germanpreet Singh, Md. Rafique, Arjun Tudu.FORWARDS: Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sumeet Passi.
