NEW DELHI: The Indian National Team which assembled in the Capital for the forthcoming back to back Russia 2018 Joint Qualification Round 2 matches against Iran and Turkmenistan respectively had their first practice session at the Ambedkar Stadium on Thursday (March 17, 2016).

The squad will be practicing at the Ambedkar Stadium for the next couple of days before departing to Tehran on March 20 (Sunday) morning.
India are slated to play Iran on March 24 in Tehran while they take on Turkmenistan on March 29 in Kochi.

Most of the Players had reported for the Camp on Wednesday itself (March 16) except for Players from Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC, all of whom were busy for the AFC Cup commitments. The Bagan Players, nevertheless, did report to the Camp on Thursday afternoon.

National Coach Stephen Constantine said it “feels great to be in the Camp.”

“I really miss being with the Players. We start to prepare for two very important matches in our quest to reach the next round of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers,” he told www.the-aiff.com.

Referring to India’s next match against ‘Giants of Asia,’ Iran, Constantine stated that “playing Iran in Iran is as difficult as it can possibly get.”

“They have a long history of being involved with World Cups and off course it will be David vs Goliath on the field. We will go there and try to be competitive and make it as difficult as it can be for Iran. We need to keep away from injuries as we next play Turkmenistan at Home on 29th.”

Meanwhile, Robin Singh and Dhanpal Ganesh, both of whom are nursing injuries and are under rehab dropped into the Camp to get themselves checked and treated by the Medical Staff of the National Team.

“As of now, all the Players among the list of 28 who have reported don’t carry any major injuries though are cases of soreness,” the Coach informed.

The list of 28 Probables stay as follows:

GOALKEEPERS: Subrata Paul, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Karanjit Singh, TP Reheneesh.

DEFENDERS: Aiborlang Khongjee, Augistine Fernandes, Arnab Mondal, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Rino Anto, Narayan Das, Lalchhuanmawia,

MIDFIELDERS: Pronay Halder, Bikash Jairu, Cavin Lobo, Rowlin Borges, Alwyn George, Md. Rafique, Malsawmzuala, Francis Fernandes, Harmanjot Singh Khabra, Udanta Singh, Vineet Rai, Seityasen Singh.

FORWARDS: Jeje Lalpekhlua, Sunil Chhetri, Sumeet Passi, Halicharan Narzary.