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A confident Punjab FC will start their 2025-26 Indian Super League (ISL) season in an away clash against Jamshedpur FC tomorrow, which will be played at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 pm. Head Coach Panagiotis Dilmperis continues in his second season at the helm, leading the side into the new campaign on the back of a semi-final finish in the AIFF Super Cup and a productive pre-season training camp in Mohali, according to a release. The club had announced a 27-member squad for the season last week and has also named Nikhil Prabhu, Dani Ramirez, Khaimingthang Lhungdim and Muhammad Suhail F. as the club captains. Along with Dani, Samir Zeljkovic, Nsungusi Jnr Effiong, Bede Amarachi Osuji, and Pablo Renan Dos Santos are the foreign signings of the squad. Jamshedpur have already started their season with a win - 1-0 against Mohammedan SC - at the same venue with former Punjab FC midfielder Madih Talal scoring the winner. Owen Coyle, who has returned for his second stint with The Red Miners, will look to continue their form, while The Shers will look to start the season with a win. Speaking ahead of the match, Head Coach Panagiotis Dilmperis said, "We have our plans for tomorrow's match and we will try to execute those plans on the ground. It is our first match of the season, and we hope that we can start the season well. We love playing in front of fans, in front of full stadiums, which, I think, will be a motivation for us to play." "Jamshedpur is a very good team. They have a good all-round team. We are not focused on one player because it will make our focus lost on the others, so we are focused on the total team," said Dilmperis about the opposition. Punjab FC squad also comprises seven players from the academy, highlighting the importance of the youth structure within the club. Muhammad Suhail F, Pramveer Singh, Manglengthang Kipgen, Vishal Yadav and Singamayum Shami, who have already made their senior team debuts, will be joined by Ayush Deshwal and Thoungamba Singh Usham this season. On including and giving game time for the academy players, the coach said, "Most of them are already getting regular game time. If it was a regular season with two rounds, I think all these players would have got regular game time. We have more brilliant players in the academy who are not in squad because of the short season. They are training with us regularly and I hope when everything goes back to normal these players will get their space in Indian football." The Head Coach will be supported by Assistant Coach Konstantinos Katsaras and Indian Assistant Coach Sankarlal Chakraborty along with Papaioannou Ioannis as the Strength and Conditioning Coach and Vinay Singh as the Goalkeeping Coach. Arshdeep Singh, who signed for the team ahead of the season, said, "The team have been working hard and the mood in the dressing room is very good. As the coach said, we have a plan for tomorrow and we are working on it. We are confident that we will get a positive result at the end of the match." Arshdeep, who hails from Punjab, shared his thoughts on playing for the home club, "I think it's an honor for me being a Punjabi and playing for Punjab. I'm really happy to be here. Football doesn't see about culture or backgrounds. It's about the badge and with the badge comes responsibilities and that's why we are here to play for the badge." Punjab FC Squad for Indian Super League 2025-26: Goalkeepers: Arshdeep Singh, Muheet Shabir, Ayush Deshwal. Defenders: Bijoy Varghese, Muhammed Uvais Moyikkal, Pramveer Singh, Khaiminthang Lhungdim, Pablo Renan Dos Santos, Likmabam Rakesh Meitei, Nongmaikapam Suresh Meitei, Leon Augustine, Thoungamba Singh Usham. Midfielders: Dani Ramirez, Samir Zeljkovic, Vinit Rai, Princeton Rebello, Ricky John Shabong, Manglenthang Kipgen, Naravi Nikhil Jayantha Prabhu, Singamayum Shami. Forwards: Nsungusi Jnr Effiong, Bede Amarachi Osuji, Ninthoinganba Meetei Khumanthem, Muhammad Suhail F, Bikash Singh Sagolsem, Vishal Yadav, Ranjeet Singh Pandre. Coaching and Support Staff: Head Coach: Panagiotis Dilmperis Assistant Coach: Konstantinos Katsaras Indian Assistant Coach: Sankarlal Chakraborty Strength & Conditioning Coach: Papaioannou Ioannis Goalkeeping Coach: Vinay Singh Team Doctor: Dr. Sidak Dhillon Physiotherapist: Disharth Jain Team Manager: Kaustuv Kashyap Team Masseur: Gonesh Dalui. (ANI)
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