The All India Football Federation (AIFF), on Saturday, announced a 23-member squad for the Indian women’s national team’s two-match friendly against Myanmar, scheduled for July 9 and 12 in Yangon.
“My team is a mix of senior and junior players. I am satisfied with the combination of the squad. After playing Uzbekistan last month, we started our National camp within the next 10 days,” head coach Chaoba Devi said in an AIFF release.
Coach Chaoba said the team prepared well for the matches during the training camp at the National Centre of Excellence in Kolkata and backed having youngsters in the starting XI.
The Indian women’s team’s last assignment was in Uzbekistan on May 31 and June 4 where they lost 0-3 and 0-0 to the hosts.
𝑺𝑸𝑼𝑨𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑵𝑶𝑼𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻 🔵
Indian Sr. Women’s Team Head Coach @Chaobadevi1 has unveiled the 23-member squad for the upcoming friendlies against Myanmar! 🇮🇳⚽️🇲🇲
🗓️ Mark your calendars:
– 9th July
– 12th July
Let’s cheer on our girls as they bring their A-game! 🙌✨… pic.twitter.com/8Laz3NvLgN
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) July 6, 2024
Reflecting on India’s performance in Uzbekistan, Chaoba said, “We played with Uzbekistan last month, which was also a higher-ranked team. Playing against higher-ranked teams benefits our players as they can have intense matches and get ready to play in big tournaments.”
The Indian team are currently ranked 67th in the FIFA Rankings, Myanmar are ranked 54th.
Talking about the substantial gap in rankings between the two sides, Chaoba said, “Ranking does matter. The federation is also trying to arrange for more exposure tours. If we play more such games, the team will improve. We need to play quality games.
“A well-laid-out plan should be there. We need to inform the girls well in time to keep them prepared. There is a lot of activity going on around Indian women’s football, and we need future players.
“We have scouted talents from IWL and IWL 2. We coaches can get the best of the talents and select the best ones,” she asserted.
Indian women’s squad for Myanmar friendlies:
Goalkeepers: Shreya Hooda, Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, Maibam Linthoingambi Devi
Defenders: Loitongbam Ashalata Devi,Hemam Shilky Devi, Sanju,Wangkhem Linthoingambi Devi, Aruna Bag.
Midfielders: Naorem Priyangka Devi, Sangita Basfore, Karthika Angamuthu, Neha, Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi, Mousumi Murmu
Forwards: Kajol Hubert Dsouza, Anju Tamang, Soumya Guguloth, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Karishma Purushottam Shirvoikar, Lynda Kom Serto, Pyari Xaxa, Jyoti, Rimpa Haldar
Fixtures:
Myanmar vs India: July 9 (Yangon)
Myanmar vs India: July 12 (Yangon).