Gurpreet, Jhingan among probables for 2018 World Cup qualifiers
Gurpreet hit the headlines last year when he became the fifth Indian to be signed by a European football club.
Sandesh Jhingan
Oblivious to the fact that he and Sandesh Jhingan have been named among the 32 probables for India’s 2018 FIFA World Cup joint qualification round 1 against Nepal, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was busy playing for his team, Stabaek FC, in a pre-season match against America’s Major League Soccer (MLS) side Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday.
Ever since the goalkeeper from Chandigarh, who became the first Indian footballer in 79 years to play for a top European side last month, has started playing regularly for Stabaek’s first team, he has found it hard to keep a tab on the development in Indian football. But the Indian selectors have been watching him closely and were impressed with his performances for the Norwegian side.
On Wednesday, when the All India Football Federation (AIFF) named him among the probables, it did not surprise him. “It feels good to be selected in the Indian team. I am looking forward to it,” he said.
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India will host Nepal on March 12 at Guwahati while the return leg will be played in Nepal on March 17. The Indian team will assemble for a preparatory camp at Guwahati on March 4.
Gurpreet hit the headlines last year when he became only the fifth Indian after Mohammad Salim, Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Pal to be signed by a European club.
While it remains to be seen if the 22-year-old Gurpreet can make himself available for the Indian team as he is busy with the pre-season tour with his club, it is almost certain that Sandesh Jhingan will join the preparatory camp.
No other Indian player has created so much ripples on the domestic circuit in the last one year as Sandesh. His breakthrough performances for the Sachin Tendulkar-owned Kerala Blasters in Indian Super League (ISL), where he helped the team finish as runners-up against Atletico de Kolkata, fetched him the young emerging player of ISL award. And later he was awarded with the emerging player of the year 2014 by AIFF for his notable performances for the Indian U-23 team at Incheon Asian Games.
As expected, top clubs from India as well as foreign clamoured to sign him but Sandesh surprised everyone by rejecting top Indian clubs like Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC and instead signed for Sporting Clube de Goa.
“It’s an honour and a moment to be celebrated when one is selected in the national team. We have a new coach in Stephen Constantine now who will coach with a different style. So, I will have to adapt fast accordingly to his new methods of coaching,” said Sandesh, who plays as a central defender.
Gurpreet, a former trainee of St Stephen’s Football Academy, has already earned a cap for the senior national team, but Sandesh is yet to make debut for the senior team. “Hopefully I can cement my place in the Indian team and earn my first senior cap. My fingers are crossed,” added the former student of Shishu Niketan School, Chandigarh.
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