Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac on Thursday announced 18 days national team camp ahead of 2020 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Qatar.
India will lock horns with Qatar on March 26 in the FIFA World Cup qualifier in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The national team camp will be held in two phases.
A total of 23 players will attend the first phase of camp on March 9 while 20 others will join on March 16. 20 players are unavailable as they are part of four Hero Indian Super League semi-finalist teams.
Head coach Stimac said that the team will make full use of the national team camp ahead of the clash against Qatar.
"Time is very crucial for us. We have planned to utilize the maximum time possible, so we want to see as many players as possible before the Qatar match. As some players won't be able to join the camp because of their club commitments before the 16th, we'll use this time to assess other players," Stimac said in a statement.
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Stimac said that Sandesh Jhingan and Jeje Lalpekhlua will attend the first phase of the national camp.
"Sandesh (Jhingan) and Jeje (Lalpekhlua) have been longstanding servers of Indian National Team and I strongly believe in their abilities. I have been updated about their current medical status and we'll monitor them closely in Bhubaneswar too," he added.
Jeakson Singh has earned his maiden call-up for the Senior National Team camp. Singh was part of the Indian side during FIFA U17 World Cup. He became the first Indian footballer to score a goal in a FIFA World Cup match. Singh achieved this feat against Colombia on October 10, 2017, at JLN Stadium in New Delhi.
"It's a dream-come-true for me to get a call-up from Senior Team camp. Scoring the goal against Colombia is something that I shall always cherish but now I want to prove myself here. Sharing the dressing room with ones who I've always looked up to, is going to be a remarkable experience for me," Jeakson said.
Twenty-three players who have been called up for national team camp on March 9:
Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, Md Rafique Ali Sardar.
Defenders: Pratik Prabhakar Chowdhary, Shubham Sarangi, Subhasish Bose, Narender, Adil Khan, Sandesh Jhingan.
Midfielders: Rowllin Borges, Amarjit Singh, Jeakson Singh, Nandhakumar Sekar, Lalengmawia, Vinit Rai, Raynier Fernandes, Nikhil Poojary, Mawihmingthanga, Halicharan Narzary, Sahal Abdul Samad.
Forwards: Farukh Choudhary, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Liston Colaco.
Twenty players who will join the camp on March 16:
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith, Prabhsukhan Gill.
Defenders: Prabir Das, Rahul Bheke, Pritam Kotal, Nishu Kumar, Sumit Rathi, Seriton Fernandes, Mandar Rao Dessai.
Midfielders: Edwin Sydney Vanspaul, Brandon Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Udanta Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Jackichand Singh.
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh, Soosai Raj Micheal.