Panaji: Khalid Jamil was careful with his team selection for the high-profile friendlies during this FIFA international match window.Unlike in the past, the India coach did not overload selection from a single club, while the All India Football Federation (AIFF) got the clubs on board to ensure that Jamil gets an additional week of training before the window officially opened on Sept 21.“This is perhaps for the first time in a long period that the clubs and the coach exchanged views, and the clubs said they would also help in building the national team,” said AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan. “The AIFF would like to thank the clubs for their cooperation in releasing players ahead of the FIFA window, at a time when they were fine-tuning their squads for the upcoming ISL season.”According to Satyanarayan, the AIFF had a meeting with CEOs of five clubs — FC Goa, Mohun Bagan, SC Delhi, Bengaluru FC and NorthEast United – coach Jamil, manager Velu Dhayalamani and the deputy secretary general, where schedules for both the October and November windows were discussed.The five CEOs are also members of the ISL managing committee.India have dual assignments in November. While the senior team is expected to travel to New Zealand for two friendlies with the World Cuppers, a second-string side will be deputed to Dhaka to defend the SAFF Championship title. The first round of the SAFF Championship, however, will be played outside the international window.In the first of the three high-profile friendlies, the national team won plenty of hearts with an impressive performance against Panama, ranked 44 in the world. The hosts scored in the first half through Ryan Williams before the World Cup 2026 participants struck in the second half for a nervy draw at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru last week.“Full credit to Jamil, his coaching staff and the players for a champagne performance at the Kanteerava. While Panama players had competitive action playing for their respective clubs in the build-up, it was not the same for the Indian players,” said Satyanarayan.India’s next international friendly is a historic clash against five-time world champions Brazil in Kolkata on Oct 3, while three days later, Jamil’s side will lineup opposite world no. 20 Uruguay.
