India were off to a flying start in the AFC U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, as they edged out Oman 2-1 in their opening group stage clash on Sunday at the Fujairah Stadium in Fujairah, UAE.
Rahim Ali and Vikram Pratap Singh had handed India a convincing 2-0 lead in the first half itself. Oman then pulled one back in the 89th minute of the match but it wasn’t enough in the end as the Blue colts bagged the three points.
Coach Igor Stimac named a 23-man squad for the same including some players from the senior team in the likes of Suresh Singh, Lalengmawia. The team assembled in Bengaluru on October 17 and on October 20, they flew to UAE.
Editors’ Picks
INDIA U23 NATIONAL TEAM SQUAD FOR THE 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification:
GOALKEEPERS: Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Mohammad Nawaz.
DEFENDERS: Narender Gahlot, Alex Saji, Hormipam Ruivah, Asish Rai, Sumit Rathi, Akash Mishra.
MIDFIELDERS: Suresh Singh, Amarjit Singh, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Deepak Tangri, Rahul KP, Komal Thatal, Nikhil Raj, Bryce Miranda, Princeton Rebello.
FORWARDS: Vikram Partap Singh, Rahim Ali, Rohit Danu, Aniket Jadhav.
2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification: INDIA NATIONAL TEAM FIXTURES
| DATE | TIME | FIXTURE | STADIUM | RESULTS |
| October 24 | 10:00 PM | Oman U23 vs India U23 | Fujairah Stadium | Oman 1-2 India |
| October 27 | 10:00 PM | India U23 vs UAE U23 | Fujairah Stadium | |
| October 30 | 10:00 PM | India U23 vs Kyrgyz Republic U23 | Fujairah Stadium |