Looking forward to the international friendly match against Vietnam on October 12, the Indian team has been in Nam Dinh since October 7.
The 23 players under the guidance of coach Manolo Marquez had their first training session that evening. The first feelings and experiences of Nam Dinh, the Indian team shared on the homepage of this national football federation (AIFF).
I like it here. But we didn't have much time to travel. The Indian team is focusing on the match against Vietnam. We came here to try to win on October 12, the Indian coach shared.
The Indian team brought all players to compete in domestic tournaments to compete in Vietnam. Rahul Bheke is the oldest player in the squad. He is 34 years old. However, the Indian squad is still very young with most of the players born after 1999. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was also appointed as captain. The youngest player in the Indian squad this time is midfielder Lalrinliana Hnamte, currently 21 years old.
The Indian team still has 8 players who faced Vietnam 2 years ago. They are goalkeeper Sandhu; defenders Chinglensana Konsham, Naorem Roshan, Anwar Ali; midfielders Brand Fernandes, Jaekson Thounaojam, and two strikers Lallianzuala Chhangte and Vikram Partap.
Some prominent players are no longer present, such as striker Sunil Chhetri (retired), Udanta Singh Kumam, midfielder Anirudh Thapa or defender Sandesh Jhingan.
Speaking about the selection, Mr. Marquez said: The players were called up because we thought they were the best group to play against Vietnam. Obviously, physically, we are much better than before the season. The Vietnamese team is also in a similar situation to the Indian team. Their national championship has also gone through four or five matches. So I think the winning team will prove that they are stronger than the other team, at least in the upcoming match.
The match between Vietnam and India takes place at 6:00 p.m. on October 12 at Thien Truong Stadium. The tickets to watch this match have 3 denominations: 300,000, 200,000, 100,000 VND/ticket.
