It will be India’s final preparatory match ahead of the AFC Asian Cup third round qualifiers next month in Kolkata.
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The Indian national team will take on Jordan in an international friendly at the Qatar SC Stadium on Saturday. It will be India’s final preparatory match before the AFC Asian Cup third round qualifiers next month in Kolkata. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) had arranged a match against Zambia on May 25, but it was called off due to various reasons. The Indian team has been preparing for over a month, training in Bellary first and then in Kolkata. The Blue Tigers have a FIFA ranking of 106 while their opponents are placed 15 places above them. Meanwhile talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri’s return from injury would be a boost to the Indian team. The match against the higher ranked opponents could give head coach Igor Stimac insight into the composition of his best playing eleven.
#BlueTigers ?? face Jordan in last preparatory match before Asian Cup Qualifiers begin in June
Read ? https://t.co/ZMPP3wgrxu#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/WtNKlFmlrL
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) May 27, 2022
Stimac side had played two practice matches against the likes of ATKMB and I-League All Star XI before traveling to Doha. Meanwhile India’s last international match was against Belarus on March 26 in Bahrain. The Blue Tigers lost the fixture 3-0. Rahul Bheke was India’s last international goal-scorer, as the Mumbai City FC defender headed home in the 2-1 loss to Bahrain on March 23. Meanwhile, once again the onus will be on veteran striker Chhetri to lead the side. The 37-year-old has netted a whopping 80 goals in 125 appearances for the Indian team and is itching to get back into the field after a gap of almost six months.
The Croatian tactician would be happy to have multiple goal-scorers at his disposal this time around. The Likes of Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh and Sahal Abdul Samad are heading into the tie on the back of an impressive Indian Super League (ISL) season. Liston and Manvir are in stunning form having scored a combined total of 20 goals for ATKMB across all competitions. Liston netted a hat-trick for the Mariners in the AFC Cup group stage fixture against Bashundhara Kings last week. Meanwhile, midfielder Sahal also had a brilliant ISL season last term, scoring six goals in 21 appearances for Kerala Blasters FC.
As for Jordan, this will be their final friendly match before taking on Australia on June 1 and then move to the Asian Cup Qualifiers. The Chivalrous will start as the favorites against the Blue Tigers, who don’t have the best of records against the middle-eastern opponents. Jordan’s last outing was against New Zealand in January, which the Chivalrous won 3-1. Ali Olwan netted a brace while Musa Al-Taamari converted a spot-kick to get the better of the All whites. Hamza Al-Daradreh will shoulder Jordan’s goal-scoring responsibilities. The 31-year-old is Jordan’s all-time record goal-scorer with 26 scalps to his name in 59 appearances.
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India possible starting lineup: Gurpreet Sandhu (GK); Rahul Bheke, Prital Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Ashique Kuruniyan; Sahal Abdul Samad, Glan Martins, Anirudh Thapa, Brandon Fernandes; Manvir Singh, Sunil Chhetri
Jordan possible starting lineup: Yazid Abu Layla (GK); Mohannad Khairullah, Mohammad Al-Dmeiri, Yazan Al-Arab, Ihsan Haddad; Yaseen Al-Bakhit, Sharara, Baha Abdel-Rahman; Yazan Al-Naimat, Ali Olwan, Hamza Al-Dardour.
The international friendly between India and Jordan will take place at Qatar SC Stadium and it will kick off at 09:30 pm IST on Saturday, May 28.
The match will be live streamed for fans in India on the Indian Football Facebook page from the Jordan TV feed.
