New Delhi, Jul 5 (IANS): India's chief football coach Armando Colaco Tuesday announced a 30-member squad for three friendlies against the Maldives, Qatar and Kazakhstan to prepare the national team for the first round World Cup qualifiers against the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
After the friendlies, the squad will be pruned to 23 for the home-and-away matches against the higher-ranked UAE. The first-leg of the World Cup qualifiers will be held in Abu Dhabi July 23 and Delhi will host the return leg July 28.
Striker Jeje Lalpeklua, mid-fielders Jewel Raja Sheikh, Shilton D'Silva, Lalrindika Ralte and defender Raju Eknath Gaikwad, also captain of the under-23 team, are some of the new faces in the senior team.
East Bengal's attacking mid-fielder Mehtab Hussain makes a comeback after six years while Sunil Chettri will be leading the attack.
Armando said he would prefer to play the 4-1-4-1 formation against UAE and both Jeje and Chettri will be playing as lone striker.
"Mehtab is an aggressive player and he will play in front of the four defenders. I will also like to use Peter Carvalho as a withdrawn forward," said Armando.
Steven Dias, Syed Rahim Nabi and Climax Lawrence could be the other mid-fielders in the starting line-up with Carvalho.
Subrata Paul will be the first choice goalkeeper while Gourmangi Singh, Raju Gaekwad, Sameer Naik and Debobrata Roy will be manning the defence.
India play in the Maldives July 10 and Qatar at the Al Sadd Stadium in Doha July 17 while the date for the friendly against Kazakhstan is yet to be decided.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal, Sandip Nandy, Karanjit Singh, Laxmikant Kattimani
Defenders: Gourmangi Singh, Denzel Franco, Rowilson Rodrigues, Raju Eknath Gaikwad, Valleriano Rebello, Debabrata Roy, Sameer Naik, Mahesh Gawli, Robert Lalthlamuana
Midfielders: Mehtab Hossain, Syed Rahim Nabi, Harmanjot Khabra, Steven Dias, Jewel Raja Sheikh, Shilton D'Silva, Lalrindika Ralte, Peter Carvalho, Climax Lawrence, Clifford Miranda, Rakesh Masih, Lalkamal Bhowmick
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua, CS Sabeeth, Sushil Kumar Singh, Baljit Sahni
Standbys: Khanjom Jibon Singh, Anthony Barbosa, Thokchom Naoba Singh, Anil Kumar