Head Coach Igor Stimac named India’s final squad from the 26 provisionally called players to travel to Malaysia for the historical Merdeka Cup 2023. The Blue Tigers will participate in the tournament for the first time after 22 years. The competition was also revived since it was last played in 2013. The Merdeka Cup is historically held to commemorate the Independence Day of Malaysia. This will be the 42nd edition of the tournament and will be played by three countries this time.
India will play the hosts Malaysia in the first game of the Merdeka Cup 2023 before facing Tajikistan in the final should they progress. The team arrives after reaching the last-16 stage of the Asian Games held last month. India reached China, the host of that tournament, with a depleted squad due to the long tussle between the federation and clubs about releasing players during the non-FIFA window. No such problem exists here as players are mandated to join national duties during international breaks recognized by the world football governing body. Hence, India has a fully strengthened squad available to them.
History
The Merdeka Cup is one of Asia’s oldest football competitions involving national teams. The tournament was first kicked off in 1957. It is hosted in Malaysia and so far 41 editions have been played. India have taken part in 17 of them, including their debut in the competition's inaugural year. Their best runs in the Merdeka Cup came in the 1959 and 1964 editions when they finished as runners-up. However, the Blue Tigers could only finish fourth in their last appearance in the competition back in 2001.
India Merdeka Cup Squad
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Amrinder Singh, Vishal Kaith
Defenders: Nikhil Poojary, Roshan Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Mehtab Singh, Lalchungnunga, Akash Mishra, Subhasish Bose
Midfielders: Suresh Singh, Anirudh Thapa, Rohit Kumar, Sahal Abdul Samad, Brandon Fernandes, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Udanta Singh, Mahesh Singh, Liston Colaco, Nandhakumar Sekar
Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Manvir Singh
Head Coach: Igor Stimac
Midfielder Jeakson Singh is the top name that misses out through injury sustained in the game for Kerala Blasters prior to the international break. With him, goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh and winger Vikram Pratap Singh have not made it from the provisional squad. Head coach Igor Stimac has overlooked Mumbai City midfielder Apuia again due to the reported feud between the manager and the player. ISL’s Golden Glove winner of last season, Vishal Kaith has finally made the final squad for India with his Mohun Bagan teammate Liston Colaco has made a return to the team. Ashique Kuruniyan is ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL tear sustained during Blue Tigers’s involvement in the King’s Cup in September. As usual, Sunil Chhetri will lead the squad. Subhasish Bose is also back in the squad from his injury that kept him out from the King's Cup.
India Merdeka Cup Fixtures
Friday, 13 October 2023
Malaysia vs India
Tuesday, 17 October 2023
Malaysia/India vs Tajikistan, 6:30 PM IST
All matches will be played at Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur at 18:30 (IST)
The fixtures for the Merdeka Cup 2023 were revised after Palestine, the fourth participant, pulled out of the tournament due to the recent unrest in the region. The West Asian nation replaced Lebanon initially after they also removed themselves from the competition. Despite that, the format of the Merdeka Cup remained intact with Palestine’s opponent Tajikistan getting a direct entry into the final on 17th October 2023. The winner between Malaysia and India on 13th October 2023 will go on to face them in the showpiece. The tournament will not be played in a round-robin format as thought before with three nations involved.
