The Indian football team will take on Maldives on Wednesday, March 19. Sunil Chhetri has come out of his retirement and will his first international match since. Check out the broadcast details, including where to watch the match.
India will take on Maldives in a friendly encounter on Wednesday, March 19 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong. Ahead of the marquee clash against Bangladesh in the FIFA World Cup 2028 qualifiers, the match against Maldives is a perfect room for dress rehearsal for the Manolo Marquez side. The Blue Tigers have struggled with consistency in international football and the team cannot afford to continue the same trend.
The team management also failed to find a replacement for Sunil Chhetri in the last few months, resulting in the legend coming out of retirement and continuing in international football. Previously, there were plenty of goal poachers in the team, particularly Jeje and Balwant Singh among others but in modern times, there have been a surge in wingers but their inability to finish in front of the goal have hurt the team significantly.
Marquez has done a commendable job in the domestic circuit but it hasn’t been easy to lead the national team. He needs to find a solution to bridge the gap between the mid-fielders and forwards and most importantly, prepare the likes of Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh and Suresh Singh Wangjam among others to be better in finishing in front of the post. The post of a second striker needs to be sorted as well.
India vs Maldives Where to Watch?
The match between India and Maldives will be broadcast live on Star Sports 3. Live streaming of the game will be available on JioHotstar.
India squad vs Maldives
Amrinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Vishal Kaith, Asish Rai, Boris Singh Thangjam, Chinglensana Singh Konsham, Hmingthanmawia, Mehtab Singh, Rahul Bheke, Roshan Singh Naorem, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose, Ashique Kuruniyan, Ayush Dev Chhetri, Brandon Fernandes, Brison Fernandes, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Lalengmawia, Liston Colaco, Mahesh Singh Naorem, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Sunil Chhetri, Farukh Choudhary, Irfan Yadwad, Manvir Singh
