India national football team: the current squad and key players

The India national football team, known to fans as the Blue Tigers, are in the middle of a rebuild. Sunil Chhetri, the greatest goalscorer the country has produced, has stepped away for good, the results have gone the wrong way, and a new coach is trying to shape a squad that can climb back up the world rankings. Here is a clear look at who plays for India right now, who leads the side, and the players the team is being built around.

The India national football team is coached by Khalid Jamil and captained by goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. The squad mixes experienced names such as Sandesh Jhingan and Lallianzuala Chhangte with younger forwards like Suhail Ahmad Bhat and Edmund Lalrindika. India sit 138th in the FIFA world rankings and are rebuilding after missing out on both the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup.

Who plays for the India national football team?

India’s most recent full squad was the group Khalid Jamil named for the Unity Cup in London in May 2026, a four-team tournament that also featured Nigeria, Jamaica and Zimbabwe. It is the clearest snapshot of the current player pool. Here is that squad, grouped by position.

• Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith, Hrithik Tiwari, Albino Gomes
• Defenders: Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Rahul Bheke, Akash Mishra, Nikhil Poojary, Roshan Singh Naorem, Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Bijoy Varghese, Pramveer
• Midfielders: Ashique Kuruniyan, Lalengmawia Ralte, Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa, Jeakson Singh Thounaojam, Noufal PN, Ricky Shabong
• Forwards: Lallianzuala Chhangte, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Ryan Williams, Rahim Ali, Farukh Choudhary, Suhail Ahmad Bhat, Edmund Lalrindika

Most of these players come from the Indian Super League’s biggest clubs, with Mohun Bagan Super Giant, East Bengal FC, Bengaluru FC and Mumbai FC supplying the bulk of the pool. The ISL is the main pathway into the national team, so the squad tends to follow whoever is in form there. Squads change from camp to camp, but this group is the core Jamil is working with.

Unlike most nations, India do not play at a single fixed national stadium. Home fixtures rotate around venues in different cities, from Kolkata and Guwahati to Bhubaneswar and Bengaluru, depending on the tournament and the pitch conditions at the time.

Who is the captain of the India national football team?

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is the captain. The Bengaluru FC goalkeeper is one of the most experienced players in the squad and has long been India’s first-choice keeper, a commanding presence and one of the tallest goalkeepers in Asian football. He is also one of the few Indian players to have built a career in Europe, and was the first Indian to feature in a UEFA competition during a spell with Norwegian club Stabaek.

Who is the India national football team coach?

Khalid Jamil took charge of the national team on 1 August 2025, becoming the first Indian head coach of the senior men’s side in more than a decade. He replaced Spaniard Manolo Marquez, who left after a poor run of results that dragged India down the rankings. Jamil built his reputation in domestic football, winning the I-League with unfancied Aizawl FC in 2017 and later coaching Mumbai FC, NorthEast United and Jamshedpur FC. His teams are known for defensive organisation and quick, direct attacking, and he has been handed the job of steadying the side and blooding younger players.

India national football team key players

A squad in transition still leans on a handful of proven names. These are the players carrying the most responsibility right now.

Sandesh Jhingan (defender) is the leader of the defence, a commanding centre-back who has been a fixture for India for over a decade. His aerial strength and reading of the game make him the first name on the team sheet at the back.

Lallianzuala Chhangte (forward) is one of India’s most dangerous attacking players. The pacey winger, a regular for Mumbai FC, is the kind of direct runner India need to create chances now that Chhetri is gone.

Liston Colaco (forward) gives India width and directness on the other flank. Quick and comfortable running at defenders, the Mohun Bagan Super Giant winger is one of the more exciting talents in the pool.

Manvir Singh (forward) offers a different profile up front. Strong and willing to run the channels, the Mohun Bagan forward has often been used as a focal point of the attack and chips in with important goals.

Anwar Ali (defender) is one of the younger defenders being trusted with a bigger role, a ball-playing centre-back comfortable stepping out with the ball who represents the next generation at the back.

Sahal Abdul Samad (midfielder) is a creative presence in the middle of the park, a technical player capable of unlocking defences with a pass when India need something different.

Behind them, Jamil has started to blood the next generation. Young forwards such as Suhail Ahmad Bhat and Edmund Lalrindika, both named in the Unity Cup squad, are the kind of attacking talents India are counting on to grow into the goalscoring roles left open by Chhetri’s departure.

Sunil Chhetri and India’s all-time greats

No look at Indian football is complete without Sunil Chhetri. He retired from international football for good in 2025 as India’s all-time leading scorer with 95 goals in 157 caps, a tally that at his peak placed him among the most prolific active international goalscorers in the world, alongside names like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Replacing his goals is the single biggest challenge facing the current team.

Chhetri joins a short list of Indian footballing icons. Bhaichung Bhutia, the striker who captained India for years and helped open doors for Indian players abroad, is one of the country’s most celebrated footballers. Going further back, forwards like I. M. Vijayan and the players of India’s 1950s and 1960s golden era, when the country reached the Olympic semi-finals in 1956, are still the benchmark for what Indian football can produce.

How is the India national football team doing in 2026?

The honest answer is that this is a difficult period. India are ranked 138th in the world as of June 2026, well below their best-ever mark of 94th set back in 1996. They failed to reach the 2026 World Cup, going out in the second round of Asian qualifying, and then missed out on the 2027 AFC Asian Cup after a qualifying campaign that included a damaging defeat to Bangladesh. At the Unity Cup in London in May 2026, Jamil’s side finished fourth of four, losing to Jamaica and then to Zimbabwe in the third-place playoff.

The task now is a genuine rebuild. With Chhetri retired and the rankings at a low ebb, Khalid Jamil has to find new goalscorers and bring through the younger players in his squad. There is talent in the pool, particularly out wide, but the next qualifying cycles will be the real test of whether the Blue Tigers can climb back. For more on India and the rest of the game, explore our full football coverage.

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