In India U-17 football team, a Canadian and an American

Panaji: For the first time in the history of Indian football, two NRIs will don the India jersey when they represent the country in the Fifa U-17 World Cup next month. US-based defender Namit Deshpande and Canada-based goalkeeper Sunny Dhaliwal have made it to the final squad of 21.

In a list devoid of surprises, coach Luis Norton de Matos made the announcement to the players at the team hotel after dinner on Thursday, hours before Fifa's registration deadline was to end at midnight.

Namit and Sunny got India coach Luis Norton de Matos' nod with every possibility of Namit making it to the playing 11 when India takes on his adopted country, the US, in the tournament opener on October 6 in Delhi. Namit had moved to the US when he was six years old.

Though Namit's selection was given, Sunny was doubtful as the Portuguese coach had three talented goalkeepers—Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill and Mohammad Nawaz—all in good form vying for the three slots in the team. But finally, Matos picked the strapping giant of a goalkeeper from Canada.

Many of the other players were automatic choices. Captains Amarjit Singh, Jitendra Singh, Suresh Singh and Sanjeev Stalin were the first four names on the coach list, while there was never any doubt over the inclusion of regulars like Aniket Jadhav, Anwar Ali, Komal Thatal, Abhijit Sarkar and Boris Singh, who will miss the opening clash due to suspension.

Jeakson Singh, who was down with dengue fever during the Bengaluru leg of preparations but has now regained full fitness, has made the cut, but Rohit Danu was not so lucky. The youngest member of the squad suffered an ankle injury during training in Bengaluru and Matos didn't want to take any chances with the limited choice available.

Mumbai boy Saurabh Meher can also count himself unlucky. The midfielder scored an impressive goal against Mauritius on Thursday but, clearly, that wasn't enough to convince the Portuguese coach.

"We believe that we are prepared for the U-17 World Cup. We have worked hard and made progress, but at the same time we go directly to a high-level competition against some of the best teams in the world," said Matos.

India have been placed in group A and will play the US in the opener on October 6. India's other group opponents include Colombia and former champions Ghana.

India's final 21: Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh, Prabhsukhan Gill, Sunny Dhaliwal; defenders: Boris Singh, Jitendra Singh, Anwar Ali, Sanjeev Stalin, Hendry Antonay, Namit Deshpande; midfielders: Suresh Singh, Ninthoinganba Meetei, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Abhijit Sarkar, Komal Thatal, Lalengmawia, Jeakson Singh, Nongdamba Naorem, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Md. Shahjahan; forwards: Rahim Ali and Aniket Jadhav.