Head coach Naushad Moosa opens up on India U23 players getting senior team call-ups, need for more playing time

India Senior team head coach Khalid Jamil has called nine U23 players for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers camp in the October window.

The India U-23 men’s national football team earned a lot of praise for their impressive showing at the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers recently. The Blue Colts defeated Bahrain and Brunei in the qualifiers, but a defeat to Qatar meant that they were unable to qualify for the tournament for the most agonising of short margins.

Naushad Moosa has been hailed for getting the best out of the young players and making them play an exciting brand of attacking football. Moosa has also seen nine of the U-23 players included in Khalid Jamil’s provisional squad for India’s upcoming AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against Singapore.

Also Read: Star performers from India U23 squad called up for senior team camp ahead of AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers

Moosa on U23 players transitioning to the senior team

In a recent press interaction, Naushad was asked if he can see his young players thrive in the senior team set-up and stated: “It’s a great sign that so many young players have been called to the senior team. This is happening for the first time that so many U-23 players being promoted to the senior team.

I believe in the players and the character they showed in the qualifiers. They were really good and they have the potential to make a difference for the senior squad. For me, Khalid is looking for players in particular positions and I’m always there to help him out with that.”

Plans for the India U-23 team

When asked about what his plans are on taking the India U23 side forward after the Asian Cup qualifiers, Moosa claimed: “It all started with the friendlies where we played last year against Malaysia. After that, we got the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan matches.

Playing against them, we were thinking about Qatar and Bahrain. If you want to win games, it’s important to have a winning mentality and to win you have attacking football – you don’t sit back and play good.

“So, everyday the word is how we can attack better and how we can stay compact. If we don’t concede, we have players with quality who can score and if you saw the games, then we did that. What is important for me is to make them believe that it’s possible to win matches and they really delivered,” he added.

Need for regular communication with Khalid Jamil

Moosa also acknowledged the need for constant communication for him and Khalid Jamil to ensure a smoother transition from players in the India U23 team to the India senior national team, explaining: “The problem is we both have just come into the roles.

Given enough time, I haven’t spoken with him much in the beginning and he was busy with the team and had a week’s time to prepare for the Nations Cup. After this, now that he’s taken nine teams from the team, maybe he’ll take more and I’d love to see that.

“I’ve worked with clubs, reserve clubs, and senior team and I always try to prepare my team according to the senior team and what qualities is he looking for. When Igor (Stimac) and when Manolo (Marquez) came in, I discussed with them and now that Khalid is here, I’ll definitely speak to him about what attributes he’d want in the players.

It’s important, as the players who go to him understand the way he wants to play so that it’ll be easier for the players to adapt,” he also stated.

Young players’ chances against Singapore and the need for more matches

When asked if the young players can perform well in the upcoming games against Singapore, Moosa stated: “The way they have preformed in the U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, I believe in the players. Mentally, with the character they’ve shown, I’m pretty sure they’ll definitely do very well against Singapore.”

Moosa also believes that the India U-23 team can benefit from playing more matches, especially in the FIFA international break.

He stated: “Our next target is the Asian Games, so that’ll be another 10 months for us. It’ll be great if we got great matches before that. We got the results in the U23 qualifiers as we got to play against Iraq, Tajiksitan and Kyrgyzstan in the friendlies. So it’ll be great if we can competitive games in the FIFA windows.”

Finally, when asked if he thinks that a variation of the India U-23 team should be made to play in the 2025-26 I-League, Moosa replied: “What the fans say is that they good they believe in the players. I’ve been telling in the past that these players get regular playing time.

If the AIFF can plan a good structure to ensure the players get quality minutes, it’ll be very good for Indian football. I’ve been telling the players that they must be smart to choose the necessary clubs to get more playing time.”

Kalyan Chaubey calls for unity among coaches

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) president, Kalyan Chaubey, also voiced the need for better and regular communication between coaches like Moosa and Jamil to ensure a better transition from the junior players to the senior team.

He stated: “I’d like to state how good it is for the senior team and the under-23 national team to coordinate about themselves well. We must not forget how the under-20 women’s team, how many of those players are playing in the IWL Two and qualified for the competition.

“Many under-20 players will feature in the senior women’s team. Even the Under-17 boys and girls players are also in preparation of how they can be part of the senior group. Unless you have an ecosystem alive, the development cannot be seen. That is why I ffeel every coach of the Indian squads should have regular talk among themselves and get regular data of the individual players between all coaches across the squad,” he also added.

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