A modified Indian football squad for the Asian Games 2023 was announced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Wednesday, with a number of players from the previously announced squad not included due to non-availability from their Indian Super League (ISL) clubs.
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Skipper Sunil Chhetri was among the nine players who were retained from the previous list which saw 13 overall changes from the squad which was announced on August 1.
The new-look unit, however, has only three central defenders — Narender Gahlot, Deepak Tangri and Sumit Rathi. More importantly, the team announced has no established full-backs. The only logical solution to this problem is playing two of the six wingers selected in the team as full-backs.
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India coach Igor Stimac also highlighted this problem in a press meet on Sunday ahead of travelling to China.
“Full-back positions are weakened too much. With Suresh, Akash, Roshan, Anwar Ali and Ashish Rai, it will be totally different, but they are not with us, hence that is a big problem,” Stimac said.
India start their Asian Cup campaign on 19th September against China. India coach Igor Stimac all but confirmed the unavailability of Sandesh Jhingan and Sunil Chhetri.
Stimac said the Indian team would focus more on the games against Myanmar and Bangladesh.
“My focus is now on Asian Games and protecting the players. I don’t think Jhingan and others will be available against China. My focus is on Bangladesh and Myanmar,” Stimac said.
It remains to be seen if the strategy to focus on two games instead of three will backfire with the World Cup Qualifiers looming large. Indian team will be expected to field their best XI for the qualifiers of the 2026 World Cup which will be held in United States, Canada and Mexico.
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