Kolkata: Some football matches are just fixtures. Tonight’s is not one of them. At 7:30 PM, India will walk out at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata to face five-time world champions Brazil, and for a lot of fans in this country, that sentence still sounds a little unreal.
This is the first time the two senior men’s teams have ever met. It is also the first time Brazil are playing an official match on Indian soil. For anyone who grew up watching the yellow shirts on television and dreaming about seeing them live, tonight is the closest it has ever come.
The gap between the sides is big, and nobody is pretending otherwise. India are ranked 138th. Brazil sit around fifth or sixth, depending on the list you check, which makes them the highest-ranked team India have faced since the rankings began in 1992. Brazil will be without Raphinha, who is out with a thigh injury, but they still have plenty of talent to call on, with names like Vinicius Junior and Endrick expected to be involved.
India have a fully fit squad under coach Khalid Jamil. Captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is expected to be in goal, and he will probably have a very busy night. Ryan Williams is the attacker to keep an eye on if India get a chance to break forward.
Realistically, the target tonight is not an upset. It is to stay compact, defend with discipline, show some courage when the chance comes, and give the crowd something to be proud of. A single good moment against Brazil can stay with a team for years.
The match is on the Sony Sports Network channels and on SonyLIV for anyone watching at home.
Whatever the scoreline, the city that has loved football longer than any other in India will have a night to remember.
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