AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia: Indian senior men's national team head coach Khalid Jamil on Tuesday named a 23-member squad for the last match of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Final Round against Hong Kong, China, to be held on March 31.
The Indian men's team will begin their camp in Kochi on Tuesday, where 20 players, along with the staff, have assembled.
Defender Anwar Ali, midfielder Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, and forward Edmund Lalrindika, who played their last Indian Super League 2025-26 match against Mohammedan Sporting Club on Monday, March 23, will join the squad later on Tuesday.
With India already ruled out of qualification for the Asian Cup, the match serves as preparation for the future.
India head coach Khalid Jamil said, “This is a good opportunity for us to build for the future. We have a lot of promising players coming through, who are currently with the U20 and U23 national teams, playing in the SAFF U20 Championship in the Maldives, and the U23 Tri-Nation in Arunachal Pradesh. Our assistant coach, Mahesh, is himself leading the U20s, which will help us familiarise them with the system we have in place here with the senior team.”
The 2027 AFC Asian Cup will be the 19th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The tournament will involve 24 national teams after the expansion in 2019. It will be held in Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5, 2027.
The Indian squad for the qualifiers:
Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith.
Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bijoy Varghese, Nikhil Poojary, Rahul Bheke, Roshan Singh Naorem, Sandesh Jhingan.
Midfielders: Ashique Kuruniyan, Danish Farooq Bhat, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Lalengmawia Ralte, Sahal Abdul Samad.
Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Farukh Choudhary, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Ryan Williams.
Head coach: Khalid Jamil
Match information:
India vs Hong Kong (AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers Final Round)
Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, Kochi