India vs Belarus: Team news, probable XI and prediction
By Mudeet Arora
The Indian national football team will take on Belarus in their second friendly game of 2022.
The AIFF organised this game in order to prepare the Blue Tigers for the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers to be held in June.
The Blue Tigers come into this clash on the back of a 2-1 loss against Bahrain in the last match.
When is the match?
The International Friendly between Bahrain and India is slated to begin at 09:30 pm (IST) on Saturday, March 26.
Where to watch?
The AIFF has confirmed there will be no live telecast or stream to watch India's friendlies.
"Despite our best efforts in working with the Bahrain FA to live telecast and stream the International Friendlies against Bahrain and Belarus, owing to lack of support & subsequent technical feasibility, it won't be possible to telecast the matches in India," read a statement from the Indian FA.
Team News
Players like Danish Farooq and Roshan Singh could be given a starting spot after their impressive debuts respectively in the last game.
With India short on forwards and attacking midfielders, expect ISL performers Rahim Ali, Manvir Singh and Liston Colaco to start.
Belarus haven't played an international game since 14th November 2021 when they lost 5-1 to Wales.
Probable Starting XI:
India: Gurpreet Singh Sadhu; Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali, Naorem Roshan Singh; Jeakson Singh, Danish Farooq; VP Suhair, Yasir Mohammad, Liston Colaco; Manvir Singh.
Belarus: S.Chernik, M.Shvyatsow, N.Naumov, R.Yudenkov, N.Zolotov, V.Klimovich, E.Yablonski, A.Selyava, K.Pyachenin, P.Sedko, V.Lisakovich
Prediction:
Belarus come into this game after a long hiatus whereas India will hope to learn from their mistakes in what could have been a totally different game if not for individual mistakes against Bahrain.