Agencies
NEW DELHI: National Coach Wim Koevermans named his squad of 23 for the international friendly against Palestine on February 6, in Kochi.
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Koevermans, under whom India had won the Nehru Cup in September 2012, maintained that it will be a very important match for India. “We need to assess ourselves. We need more such matches,” he said.
Sunil Chhetri who captained India in the Nehru Cup added: “Unless you play international friendlies you cannot gauge where you stand. We stay grateful to AIFF for arranging the match.”
“The passion for the sport in Kerala stays unparallel and we expect a full house cheering for us against Palestine.”
The 23-member list is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal (Prayag United), Sandip Nandy (Churchill Bros), Karanjit Singh (Salgaocar FC).
Defenders: Nirmal Chhetri (Mohun Bagan), Gouramangi Singh (Prayag United), Shouvik Ghosh (Pailan Arrows), Syed Rahim Nabi (Mohun Bagan), Gurjinder Kumar (Pune FC), Raju Gaikwad (East Bengal), Denzil Franco (Churchill Bros).
Midfielders: Lenny Rodrigues (Churchill Bros), Lalkamal Bhowmick (Prayag United), Arata Izumi (Pune FC), Mehtab Hossain (East Bengal), Francis Fernandes (Salgaocar), Anthony Pereira (Dempo SC), Alwyn George (Pailan Arrows), Jewel Raja (Mohun Bagan), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), Vineet CK (Prayag United).
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri (Sporting Lisbon), Manandeep Singh (East Bengal), Sushil Kumar Singh (Shillong Lajong FC).
Standbys: Subhashish Roychowdhury (Dempo SC), Dhanachandra Singh (Prayag United), Sandesh Jhingan (USFC), Arnab Mondal (East Bengal), Gurwinder Singh (East Bengal), Rocus Lamare (Salgaocar FC), Lalrindika Ralte (East Bengal), Peter Carvalho (Dempo SC), Tomba Singh (Churchill Bros), Asif K (Prayag United), Malswamtulunga (Prayag United), Joaquim Abranches (Dempo SC), Robin Singh (East Bengal), Jeje Lalpekhlua (Pune FC).
Match officials for the match — Referee: A Rowan (SSCB). Assistant referees: Shaji Kurian (Kerala), Md Kamil (Delhi).
Fourth official: MB Santosh Kumar (Kerala). Match commissioner: J Ravishankar (Delhi).
Meanwhile, Arata Izumi in an exclusively to Goal.com said he was glad he got the recognition for his performances with the Red Lizards.
Although born in Japan, he received an Indian Passport last year, which gave him a chance of appearing in Indian colours.
“Obviously, it was one of the toughest decisions for me to accept Indian citizenship. I had to consider a lot of factors, and talk to a lot of people, but I finally made the decision and I am happy about it,” he mentioned.
In his fourth season with Pune FC and a seventh overall in India, Arata is happy about life in the country and feels settled at the club.
