India will take part in the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Qualifiers Third Round. Marquez’s team will play a friendly against the Maldives on March 19 in Shillong before hosting Bangladesh at the same venue in their opening qualifier.
India’s veteran defender Sandesh Jhingan said they are looking forward to playing in Shillong for the first time and their aim is to get two clean-sheet wins.
Defender Sandesh Jhingan said as quoted by IANS, “It’s always a good feeling to be back in the national camp. As a nation, we’ll be playing in Shillong for the first time, and that’s always an exciting prospect, especially since Meghalaya is a state that has a vibrant culture of football. We are eagerly looking forward to playing here.
“Our main aim is to get the result in the Bangladesh match, as that would give us a good start in the Asian Cup Qualifiers, and I think the 10-day training ahead of that, along with the friendly against Maldives, will greatly help us prepare for it. Our target is two clean sheet victories,” said the 31-year-old, who earned eight clean sheets with FC Goa in the ISL this season.
On the other hand, Blue Tigers head coach Manolo Marquez said he wanted in-form players and thus asked Sunil Chhetri to make a comeback. The forward has scored a dozen goals and has provided two assists for Bengaluru FC in 23 matches of the ongoing Indian Super League and has played a key role in the team’s qualification for the playoffs.
Regarding the return of Chhetri to the national team, head coach Manolo Marquez said, “Sunil is the Indian top-scorer in the ISL, with practically double goals than the next player, who is Brison. After that are Subhasish, Irfan, and Manvir…all of them are here with us in the national team. We need players who score goals. In my four matches so far, we have only scored two goals – one of them from a set-piece. At this moment, the most important thing is to get results. Nothing else matters.”
“Because it was a special situation, I spoke with the AIFF and Bengaluru FC before I called him. I spoke with Sunil and explained to him what I wanted from him. It doesn’t matter if he’s 40. The national team needs players who are in good form,” said Marquez.
