'There’s absolutely no excuse for us': Khalid Jamil ahead of CAFA Nations Cup

Khalid Jamil

India's new men's football head coach, Khalid Jamil, wants his team to grab the bull by the horns in the upcoming CAFA Nations Cup, which begins on August 29. This will be Jamil's first assignment as the Blue Tigers boss following his appointment on August 1. India kickoff their campaign in Group B against Tajikistan (Aug 29) before facing Iran (September 1) and Afghanistan (September 4).

The top teams from groups A and B will play the final on September 8 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and the two second-placed teams will face each other in a battle for third place on the same day in Hisor. Although it's still early days, Jamil is already overseeing a preparatory camp (consisting of 22 players) that began on August 16 and will culminate on August 19. The former midfielder believes his charges will have more than enough time to put up a strong showing in the regional tournament.

"The important thing is that we remain united as a team, because this will be the first time India is playing in the CAFA Nations Cup, and it will be a good opportunity for us to play stronger opponents. There is absolutely no excuse for us, as we have enough time to prepare for it," said Jamil. Meanwhile, the Indian manager also addressed the exclusion of star striker Sunil Chhetri from the ongoing national camp.

"He's not there in this camp because we are playing a tournament which will essentially serve as a preparation for our Asian Cup Qualifiers. I wanted to try out a few other players during this FIFA window. I had a talk with him [Chhetri] about the same," explained Jamil. It's always a pleasure to have a player like him in the set-up. He's a role model for Indian football," he added.

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