INDIAN FOOTBALL TEAM
The team has been declared.
What do you think?.
Here is my selection:
GK: Gurprit, Amrindar, Arindam, Albino, Dheeraj.
Def: Sana, Sandesh, Pritam, Prabir, Subhasis, Akash Misra, Asish rai, Nishu Kumar, vignesh, Sarthak.
Mid: Apuiah, Jerry, Borges, Jeakson, Suresh, Hali, bipin, Anirudh, Yasir, Changte, Ashique, udanta, Jacky , Liston, Samad, Rafique.
Attack: Sunil, Manvir, Ishan
The International Friendlies against Oman and UAE will be held in Dubai, UAE on March 25 and March 29 respectively.
The final list of 28 players will be announced after the Indian Super League final, which is slated to take place on March 13. The Blue Tigers will assemble in a preparatory camp in Dubai from March 15 onwards.
โWe have kept 35 players in the list as a cushion in case any player picks up an injury during the HISL playoffs,โ head coach Igor Stimac informed.
"The two matches against Oman and UAE mean a lot to Indian Football. Itโs been a while since we last played and this is a great opportunity to check where we stand at the moment,โ the coach said.
Stimac named 10 new faces in the 35-member list of probables list.
The coach also mentioned that Brandon Fernandes, Rahul Bheke, Sahal Abdul Samad and Asish Rai do not feature in the list as they are nursing injuries at the moment.
The Blue Tigers last played at the international level in November 2019 in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers.
I think selection for International Friendlies must have been easier having the most recent entire ISL season performance of players handy.
It was great to see all the ISL teams opt for Indian goalkeepers which is the first time in all of ISL seasons so far. 
Taking a look at the performance of the Goalkeepers based on the below ISL end of league stage data, I would go with the following goalkeepers as my choice:
Arindam Bhattacharya: Outstanding saves (50), least goals conceded (15 in 20GP), highest number of clean sheets (10) and best M/G (120)
Amrinder Singh: Overall good record on all fronts (S, GC,CS, and M/G)
TP Rehenesh: Overall good record on all fronts (S, GC,CS, and M/G)
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu: 4th Choice - Overall good record & 57 caps representing national team
Vishal Kaith: Overall good record on all fronts (S, GC,CS, and M/G)
Laxmikant Kattimani and Dheeraj Singh: If we normalize their games played then, these 2 also performed well during this season.
@Shubhayan Why Albino? Albino had the highest number of goals conceded this ISL season - 36 
Clean sheets (3) were average - not impressive comparatively unless you are factoring the team defensive performances.
Secondly, why are there only 3 Forwards in the squad? No additional forwards as back ups - Bipin Singh? 
Lastly, I am wondering why the no.1 goalkeeper this ISL season, Arindam Bhattacharya, has not been included in the national squad announced!?
@Jay
You have asked some legitimate questions. Let me answer them one by one,
Why albino? Ofcourse albilo because this man knows how to save penalties. That means Strong Reflex. His outing is good. Goal keepers stat depends upon defense. If arindam was played in KBFC his stat would have been lot worse. This things matters.
Why 3 striker? Cz jeje was in off form . I kept Bipin in my choice as a mid fielder cz he is not an out and out striker. When I see Indian team I expect a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation. 3 striker is enough.
Yes we all know that as per ISL stat Arindam is No. 1 but thatโs because of Tiri and sandesh. This was the most crucial factor. Middle East players are tall mans they like to head the ball in set pieces. Arindam has a problem about his outings so he was dropped. For me undoubtedly Gurprit will play in these matches. He is the apt choice.
Thatโs a good point. Agree, these nuances matter in selecting the right team depending on the composition of the opponent team.
Your point 1 & 2 reasoning make sense too. 
I was looking at an extra striker from an injury perspective.
probables are set to leave for Dubai today ahead of Indiaโs 
forthcoming International Friendlies against Oman and UAE.
๐๐ค๐ช๐๐๐๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฟ๐ช๐๐๐! 
The #BlueTigers 
have arrived in the UAE for their training camp as they kick-off their preparation for the forthcoming International Friendlies 
It is unlikely that Chhetri will recover in time to play in the two upcoming friendlies.
As per the state government guidelines, Chhetri has to complete the mandatory quarantine of 14 days.
27 players were named in the final squad for the Friendly matches against Oman on 25 and UAE on 29 March 2021.
India is currently ranked 104 in FIFA ranking.
International Caps - Goals of Current Squad
Oman is ranked 81 in FIFA ranking.
Oman has not won many team titles. What they have achieved, though, is qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup four times in 2004, 2007, 2015 and 2019. Their best result was reaching the round of 16 in the 2019 Asian Cup. In 2009, Oman won their first Gulf Cup trophy at home in Muscat and later in 2017.
2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification - AFC Second Round
Oman 1-0 India
India Caps and goals of Current Oman Squad as of 19 November 2019 after the last match played vs. India
UAE is ranked 74 in FIFA ranking.
UAE has made one World Cup appearance in 1990 in Italy and lost all three of its games. UAE took fourth place in the 1992 Asian Cup and runner-up in 1996 as host. It won the Arabian Gulf Cup in 2007 and 2013. It finished third in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and hosted the 2019 edition which it was eliminated in the semi-finals.
2022 FIFA World Cup Qualification - 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group A
UAE 2-0 India
India Caps and goals of Current playing UAE Squad after the last match played vs. Iraq on 12th Jan 2021.
3 days to go 
The Blue Tigers are hard at work as they get set for their first international match of 2021 against Oman!
Out of the nine times, the two sides played against each other, the Men in Blue have managed to hold the Omanis to two goalless draws (W0 L7).
India take on Oman in Dubai tomorrow (March 25) in the first of two international friendlies, with the second match against the UAE slated for Monday (March 29). Both the matches to be held at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium come in the light of the Blue Tigers preparations for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifiers to be held in June.
This will be Indiaโs first international fixture since November 19, 2019 when they lost 0-1 to Oman at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex Stadium in the Qatar 2022 qualifiers, which literally ruled them out of contention for a FIFA World Cup berth.
โItโs been a while since we last played and this is a great opportunity to check where we stand at the moment,โ coach Igor Stimac said.
For the Indian audience, both the matches will be shown live on Eurosport/Eurosport HD channels with live streaming available on Jio TV.
