AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers: Clifford Miranda was on Thursday appointed as the head coach of the Indian men’s U-23 team by the All Indian Football Federation (AIFF). The AIFF technical committee also recommended other crucial appointments of Nallappan Mohanraj as assistant coach, Raghuvir Khanwalkar as the goalkeeping coach and Gavin Elias Araujo as the fitness coach of the team.
The AIFF also released a list of 28 probables for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar Qualifiers. The technical committee meeting was chaired by IM Vijayan via video conferencing and was attended by Pinky Bompal Magar, Harjinder Singh, Arun Malhotra, Climax Lawrence, Eugeneson Lyngdoh and Syed Shabir Pasha, the AIFF technical director.
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Miranda, who represented India for nine years from 2005 to 2014 as a midfielder, won two SAFF Championships, two Nehru Cup titles and an AFC Challenge Cup with the Blue Tigers. At the club level, he was a five-time NFL/I-League champion with Dempo SC.
Miranda is the first Indian coach to win a major title with an ISL team when he guided Odisha FC to Super Cup win in Kerala. “Congratulations to Clifford for being selected as the head coach of the Indian men’s U-23 national team, which will play in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers in China,” said AIFF secretary general Dr Shaji Prabhakaran in a statement.
“Clifford did well to win the Super Cup for Odisha FC, and I’m sure we can expect a good performance from the Indian team,” Prabhakaran added. The AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 Qualifiers, to be held from September 6-12 in Dalian, China, will also serve as a qualifier for the men’s Olympic football tournament in Paris next year.
The Indian squad will undergo a preparatory camp in Bhubaneswar starting on August 12. India is drawn against hosts China, Maldives and UAE in Group G.
Probables: Goalkeepers: Sachin Suresh, Hrithik Tiwari, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Arsh Anwer Shaikh.
Defenders: Narender Gahlot, Hormipam Ruivah, Bikash Yumnam, Halen Nongtdu, Sanjeev Stalin, Sumit Rathi, Jitendra Singh, Abdul Rabeeh.
Midfielders: Thoiba Singh Moirangthem, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Jiteshwor Singh Yumkhaibam, Ayush Dev Chhetri, Vibin Mohanan, Brison Deuben Fernandes, Amarjit Singh Kiyam.
Forwards: Sourav K, Vikram Partap Singh, Parthib Gogoi, Rohit Danu, Ninthoinganba Meetei Khumanthem, Gurkirat Singh, Ayush Chhikara, Sivasakthi Narayanan, Suhail Ahmad Bhat.
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