Igor Stimac, head coach of the India men’s team, announced his second list of 15 probables for the Bhubaneswar camp ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 matches against Kuwait and Qatar.
The players from the first list, announced on Saturday, will begin training in the Odisha capital on May 10. The 15 players from the second list, comprising players from Mumbai City FC and Mohun Bagan SG, who contested the ISL Cup final, will join the camp on May 15. A few players that Stimac has called up are likely to miss the camp citing injuries. Akash Mishra will not join the camp as he sustained an ACL injury during the ISL semi-final between FC Goa and Mumbai City FC. In the absence of Mishra, Stimac will have to rely on either Subhasish Bose or Jay Gupta for the games against Kuwait and Qatar. A source close to RevSportz confirmed that, along with Mishra, KP Rahul, Yasir, and Roshan are also injured and likely to miss the camp.
East Bengal defender Lalchungnunga has returned to the probables list after missing the March fixtures against Afghanistan due to injury.
Putting these concerns aside, one of the key takeaways from the training squad is that, after a long time, players from the I-League have made it to the list. Stimac has named four players from the I-League – Edmund Lalrindika (Inter Kashi), David Lalhlansanga (Mohammedan), Lalrinzuala Lalbiaknia (Aizawl FC), and Muhammad Hammad (Real Kashmir).
The Blue Tigers will face Kuwait in Kolkata on June 6, before traveling to Doha to take on Qatar on June 11. India are currently second in the group, with four points from four matches. The top two teams in the group will qualify for Round 3 of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and also book their berth at the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027.