Indian football team head coach Khalid Jamil named a 26-member squad for the upcoming international friendlies against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay.
The hosts will begin their three-match football run against Panama at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on September 26.
Experienced goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, defenders Anwar Ali and Akash Mishra and midfielders Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad are among the players named in Jamil’s squad.
Ryan Williams, Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Vikram Partap Singh, Edmund Lalrindika and Irfan Yadwad make up the six-member forward line.
India will begin their preparatory camp in Bengaluru on September 14 before moving to Kolkata on September 28 following the Panama match.
The Blue Tigers will then travel to Kolkata to face five-time FIFA World Cup champions Brazil at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on October 3 before taking on two-time world champions Uruguay at the same venue three days later.
All three of India’s opponents featured at the FIFA World Cup 2026 earlier this year and are currently ranked considerably higher than the Blue Tigers.
Brazil are fifth in the latest FIFA men’s world rankings, while Uruguay are 20th and Panama 44th. India are ranked 138th.
Carlo Ancelotti coached Brazil topped their group at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and beat Japan in the round of 32 before their campaign ended with a 2-1 defeat to Norway in the round of 16.
Uruguay and Panama, meanwhile, were both eliminated in the group stage. Uruguay finished third in Group H following draws against Saudi Arabia and Cabo Verde and a defeat to eventual champions Spain.
Panama lost all three of their Group L matches against Ghana, Croatia and England.
The Panama and Brazil matches will mark the first-ever senior men’s meetings between India and the respective nations.
India, however, have faced Uruguay once before. The two teams met in the Nehru Cup at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 1982, when Uruguay won 3-1.
The visiting teams are yet to announce their squads for the upcoming international window.
Uruguay, meanwhile, will begin a new era under former international Diego Forlan, who was appointed head coach of the senior national team in August.
India football squad for Brazil, Uruguay and Panama friendlies
- Goalkeepers: Albino Gomes, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Som Kumar
- Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Anwar Ali, Bijoy Varghese, Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Jay Gupta, Pramveer, Ricky Meetei Haobam
- Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Farukh Choudhary, Lalengmawia Ralte, Macarton Nickson, Mohammed Sanan, Ricky Shabong, Sahal Abdul Samad
- Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh, Rahim Ali, Ryan Williams, Vikram Partap Singh
- Head coach: Khalid Jamil
- Reserves: Hrithik Tiwari, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Roshan Singh Naorem, Suresh Singh Wangjam
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/india-football-team-squad-brazil-uruguay-panama-friendlies-2026
