QUICK FACTS
Country: India
FIFA Ranking: 104
Nickname: The Blue Tigers
Last match played: Oman 1-1 India (March 25 2021)
Coach: Igor Stimac
TEAM PROFILE
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India has a rich footballing history and were a force to reckon with in the 1950s and 1960s. In this period, under the guidance of maverick coach Syed Abdul Rahim India won gold in the 1951 and the 1962 Asian Games. They also finished fourth in the Summer Olympics in 1956.
RECENT PERFORMANCES
Since Stimac took over, India have participated in King's Cup and Intercontinental Cup, and have also plied their trade in the joint qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
LESSONS FROM THE PAST
The most recent meeting between the two teams was in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, in which UAE won 2-0. In their two previous encounters, as part of qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, UAE won their home leg 3-0. While the return tie ended in a 2-2 draw with Jeje Lalpekhlua and Gouramangi Moiranthem scoring for the Blue Tigers.
The highest margin of victory for UAE remains a 5-0 thrashing in a friendly in 2011 and for India a 2-0 win in the 1981 Merdeka Tournament that was held in Malaysia.
H-2-H | GAMES | IND WINS | DRAWS | UAE WINS | GOALS (IND) | GOALS (UAE) | GD [IND] | WIN % [IND] |
IND v UAE | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 26 | -19 | 14.29 % |
TEAM COMBINATION
The India national team, under head coach Igor Stimac, usually play in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The Croatian handed out 10 debuts in their previous match against Oman.
They have arrived in UAE without their talisman Sunil Chhetri who tested Covid-19 positive a few days before the team was set to leave for UAE.
The Indian coach will look to rotate his squad and hand opportunities to players who did not take part in the game against Oman.
PLAYER TO LOOK OUT FOR
AIFF
Manvir Singh: Singh was entrusted with the responsibility of filling in the big shoes of Sunil Chhetri and the forward did not disappoint. He scored the equaliser and on another occasion, his header went just over the crossbar. He had been in good form in the Indian Super League (ISL) as well, scoring six goals and providing three assists.
FULL SQUAD
Position | India squad for UAE friendly |
Goalkeepers | Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, Dheeraj Singh. |
Defenders | Ashutosh Mehta, Akash Mishra, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Singh, Adil Khan, Mandar Rao Dessai, Mashoor Shereef. |
Midfielders | Rowllin Borges, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Raynier Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Bipin Singh, Yasir Mohammad, Suresh Singh, Halicharan Narzary, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Ashique Kuruniyan. |
Forwards | Manvir Singh, Ishan Pandita, Hitesh Sharma, Liston Colaco. |