New Delhi [India], October 4 : The Indian senior men's team will play a one-off friendly match against Vietnam on Saturday, October 12, following the withdrawal of Lebanon from the tri-nation friendly tournament.
As per the release by the AIFF media team, the match will kick off at the Thien Truong Stadium in Nam Dinh, and will be designated as an official friendly, with points counting towards the FIFA Rankings.
As per the original schedule, India was supposed to face Vietnam on October 9 and Lebanon on October 12. After Lebanon's withdrawal, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) requested the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) to reschedule the Vietnam-India match to October 12, which was accepted by the VFF.
India will assemble in Kolkata on October 5 and have a training session on October 6. India's head coach Manolo Marquez and his squad will travel to Vietnam on October 7, where they will continue training.
Marquez announced a list of 26 probables on Monday. The final squad of 23 players will be announced prior to the team's travel to Vietnam.
After this, the team will play a friendly match against Malaysia during the FIFA Window on November 19.
Malaysia are currently ranked 132nd in the FIFA ranking, while India are ranked 126th.
The last time the two teams met was in October 2023 in the Merdeka Cup semi-final. The Blue Tigers lost 2-4.
It was a difficult start to the Marquez era in the Indian men's national team. Earlier India lost 0-3 to Syria in the Intercontinental Cup after a goalless draw versus Mauritius, meaning that the Blue Tigers ended the tournament in third place.
After what was a drab affair against Mauritius, which left Marquez unimpressed, India put on a better offensive showing against 93-ranked Syria, but only in the second half. The Spaniard was rather displeased by his men's panicky display in the opening minutes, which ultimately cost India as they were made to chase the game from start to finish after conceding as early as the seventh minute. Although India came out rejuvenated after the break, they could not breach the Syrian fortress and their debutant goalkeeper Elias Hadaya but Marquez was at least pleased with the fact that his side created more in attack in those 45 minutes than they did in the previous three halves of football combined.
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Vishal Kaith.
Defenders: Nikhil Poojary, Rahul Bheke, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Anwar Ali, Aakash Sangwan, Subhasish Bose, Asish Rai, Mehtab Singh, Roshan Singh Naorem.
Midfielders: Suresh Singh Wangjam, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Nandhakumar Sekar, Brandon Fernandes, Anirudh Thapa, Liston Colaco, Lalengmawia, Lallianzuala Chhangte.
Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Farukh Chaudhary, Manvir Singh, Vikram Partap Singh, Rahim Ali.