The All India Football Federation on Saturday announced a 23-member senior women’s squad for the two friendly matches against Myanmar to be played in Yangon on July 9 and 12. The goalkeeping department comprises Shreya Hooda, Elangbam Panthoi Chanu and Maibam Linthoingambi Devi while Loitongbam Ashalata Devi, Hemam Shilky Devi, Sanju, Wangkhem Linthoingambi Devi and Aruna Bag will handle the defence. As for the midfield, the likes of Naorem Priyangka Devi, Sangita Basfore, Karthika Angamuthu, Neha, Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi and Mousumi Murmu have been included in the department.

Meanwhile, the forward section consists of Kajol Hubert Dsouza, Anju Tamang, Soumya Guguloth, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Karishma Purushottam Shirvoikar, Lynda Kom Serto, Pyari Xaxa, Jyoti and Rimpa Haldar.

“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.

“All the players are fit, which is a good sign. They didn’t want to relax; they were undergoing intense training at their respective clubs.” Chaoba added that the team had excellent preparations during the training camp at the National Centre of Excellence in Kolkata and backed having youngsters in the starting XI.

India’s last assignment was in Uzbekistan on May 31 and June 4 where they lost 0-3 and 0-0 to the hosts.

“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,” Chaoba said..

While the Indians are currently ranked 67th in the FIFA Rankings, Myanmar is ranked 54th.

However, Chaoba insisted that more than the ranking, the quality of these clashes matters, besides crediting the Indian Women’s League (IWL) for helping in scouting new talents.

“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 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.

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