Joaquim Abranches replaces Anthony Pereira for February 6th Palestine clash

The Indian national football team, which is training in Kochi for the February 6 FIFA international friendly match against Palestine to be played at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, were forced to make two changes to their original 23-man squad.

Dempo’s midfielder Anthony Pereira sustained an injury during the latest round of I-league matches and will give the match a miss. He will be replaced by fellow club mate and striker Joaquim Abranches, who earned a national call-up during the last international friendly against Singapore which India lost 0-2 last October.

Abranches was subsequently dropped for the international friendly against Yemen as Manandeep Singh replaced him. It’s a different matter altogether that the India-Yemen match did not take place as the Yemen side pulled out in the eleventh hour.

Besides Abranches, Dempo club will have an additional representation in the form of goalkeeper Subhasish Roy Chowdhury, who replaces Salgaocar’s custodian Karanjit Singh. Karanjit was also rendered unfit for the Palestine tie on account of injuries sustained during the I-league.

The Blue Tigers have two other goalkeepers – Prayag United’s Subrata Pal and Churchill Brothers’ Sandip Nandy.

Meanwhile, the tickets for the February 6 clash can be purchased through the various Federal Bank branches in Ernakulam district.

The tickets are priced at Rs 500 (VVIP chair), Rs 200 (VIP chair), Rs 100 (Chair), Rs 50 (gallery) and Rs 20 for students and ladies.

The bank would open a ticket counter at the JNI Stadium on the match day from 10 am.