The post AIFF Super Cup 2025-26: Chennaiyin FC Fall to East Bengal in Second Group A Encounter appeared first on Chennaiyin FC.

Miranda becomes Chennaiyin’s first-ever Indian coach and will begin his stint with a tie against Mohun Bagan on October 25

Goa, October 24, 2025: Led by former India international attacker Clifford Miranda, a 24-man Chennaiyin FC squad will participate in the 2025-26 AIFF Super Cup. Drawn in Group A, the Marina Machans will commence their campaign with a crunch tie against Mohun Bagan Super Giant on October 25 at the Fatorda Stadium, before facing East Bengal and Dempo.

Miranda, a previous Super Cup winner as a coach, brings an innate knowledge of the Indian football ecosystem, following a long and successful career on both sides of the pitch. The 45-caps India international, who also took the reins at Goa and Odisha, becomes the club’s first Indian head coach and will lead an all-Indian squad through the tournament.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Miranda said: “For most of the teams, not training for more than five months is always difficult. Within a short period of time, we need to turn up and play our first game and then play three games in six days. This is how we need to adapt sometimes, this is how football is, how life is. It is difficult in terms of physicality, adaptation, but we are ready. Hopefully, we improve match-by-match. I truly believe in the players we have. We have some really good players wanting to prove themselves. We should, and must, be ready for the 25th.”

“It’s an opportunity for the players to show that we have come a long way–talking not just from a Chennaiyin point of view, but an Indian point of view. We need to show that we can do it on our own, and not just in terms of the result; in terms of the effort, the mentality, the attitude to show up despite all the odds. No one can take it away from us, because we are the best at it,” added the head coach, on the all-Indian make-up of his squad.

Miranda’s Chennaiyin FC squad for the Super Cup features a balanced blend of experience and youth, combining established first-team regulars with promising talents from the reserve setup. The team boasts strong depth across all departments, from reliable custodians to a solid defensive unit led by Pritam Kotal, a dynamic midfield anchored by Jiteshwor Singh and Lalrinliana Hnamte, and an energetic attack spearheaded by Irfan Yadwad and Farukh Choudhary.

Joining Miranda at the presser, Farukh commented: “Since the time I have joined the club after playing for the national team, it has been very good, the training sessions. Obviously, we have had a very short time to prepare. But, as the coach said, we need to adapt. Playing three games in six days is challenging, but we are ready mentally. Personally, I am very happy coming back to the club and playing football again and looking forward to the game tomorrow.”

Following their match against Mohun Bagan, Chennaiyin FC are scheduled to play East Bengal on October 28 and Dempo on October 31, with both matches taking place at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim.

Chennaiyin FC’s 24-man Squad for AIFF Super Cup 2025-26:

Goalkeepers: Samik Mitra, MD. Nawaz, Mohanraj K.

Defenders: PC Laldinpuia, Ankit Mukherjee, Mandar Rao Dessai, Pritam Kotal, Vignesh D., Laldinliana Renthlei, Sk. Rajjak Ali, Klusner John Manuel Pereira, Raj Basfore

Midfielders: Farukh Choudhary, Jitendra Singh, Maheson Singh, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Jiteshwor Singh, Karthick Thirumalai, Raman Singh Ngangom, Solaimalai R., Kingslee Fernandes

Forwards: Irfan Yadwad, Gurkirat Singh, Vivek S.

The post Chennaiyin FC Super Cup 25/26 Squad Announcement appeared first on Chennaiyin FC.

The Marina Machans’ Super Cup journey concludes in the Round-of-16

Bhubaneswar, April 23, 2025: Chennaiyin FC fell to a 4-0 defeat against Mumbai City FC in the Kalinga Super Cup 2025, round-of-16 on Wednesday. The Marina Machans battled hard across both halves, but conceded late goals against the run of play to see out a reverse at the Kalinga Stadium.

Head coach Owen Coyle named an attacking side for the clash. Playmaker Connor Shields partnered Jiteshwor Singh in the middle of the park, flanked on either side by Irfan Yadwad and Lukas Brambilla. Up front, Wilmar Jordan Gil and Daniel Chima Chukwu lined up in a two-man attack.

A frenetic start saw Elsinho lunge in for an important interception seconds after kick-off, before the referee waved off strong appeals by the Marina Machans for a handball inside the opposition box. Looking to add to his eight goals across all editions in the competition, Jordan Gil was the next to try his luck, six minutes in, only to fire straight at the goalkeeper.

In the Chennaiyin goal, Mohammad Nawaz thwarted the opposition’s attempt to catch him off his line after 13 minutes. Three minutes later, the custodian palmed a venomous strike away to safety. With Shields pulling the strings in the final third, both Chima Chukwu and Jordan glanced headers narrowly wide, while Jiteshwor and Vignesh Dakshinamurthy shot over from distance during a period of Chennaiyin dominance.

Mumbai took the lead in the 43rd minute through a Nikolaos Karelis header. Chennaiyin, however, returned after the interval with intent and came agonisingly close to a leveller when Brambilla and Jordan saw their efforts cleared off the line in succession in minute 48.

Chennaiyin kept the intensity high throughout their search for the equaliser. Irfan tested the goalkeeper with a headed attempt from a corner, while Jordan’s acrobatic effort flew over the bar minutes after.

The Marina Machans had another appeal for a handball inside the box waved off at the hour mark. Mumbai, then, added to their lead against the run of play through Lallianzuala Chhangte. Chhangte scored a third for Mumbai late on, before Bipin Singh rounded off the scoring.

The post Kalinga Super Cup 2025: Chennaiyin FC Bow Out After Defeat Against Mumbai City FC appeared first on Chennaiyin FC.

The winner of their round-of-16 tie will face either Bengaluru FC or Inter Kashi in the quarterfinals

Chennai, April 22, 2025: A motivated Chennaiyin FC will begin their Kalinga Super Cup 2025 campaign with a round-of-16 tie against Indian Super League outfit Mumbai City FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, with a 2025-26 AFC Champions League Two, Qualifying Play-off berth up for grabs for the tournament winner.

Head coach Owen Coyle has named a strong squad for the Kalinga Super Cup, led by attacker Connor Shields, as well as standout Indian performers Irfan Yadwad and Jiteshwor Singh, among others. Wilmar Jordan Gil and Daniel Chima Chukwu lead the attack, with the former aiming to become the outright top-scorer of the Super Cup. With eight combined goals across multiple editions, Jordan, the leading cup scorer in 2023, is a goal shy of Sunil Chettri at the top of the all-time standings.

Chennaiyin head into the tournament on the back of a convincing 5-2 win over Jamshedpur FC in their final league game in March. Building on that momentum, the Marina Machans spent three weeks training locally and played a friendly against East Bengal FC in Kolkata to sharpen up for the Super Cup.

“We’re under no illusions how difficult the game will be–Mumbai City are a wonderful side, with some outstanding players, both foreign and domestic. But, we’re looking forward to the game, we’ve shown that when we are at our very best, we can stand toe-to-toe with the best teams,” said Coyle in his pre-match press conference on Monday. “The Super Cup is a great opportunity for everybody because there is an AFC spot available. There’s a huge incentive to have a go and win the cup.”

Joining Coyle for the press conference was Shields, who topped the playmaking charts in ISL 2024-25 with eight assists and recorded the most chances created in the league (76) in 21 games.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, Shields said: “We’re looking forward to it. We didn’t finish well in the ISL, but we’ve been back training for three weeks now, and everyone is ready to go.”

Chennaiyin and Mumbai City share a familiar history in this competition. The two sides have faced off three times in the Super Cup, with Chennaiyin claiming victory once—most notably at this very stage in 2019, a result that sparked their run to the final. That history adds an extra layer of intrigue to Wednesday’s fixture, with the winner advancing to play either Bengaluru FC or Inter Kashi in the quarterfinals.

Ahead of the tie, Coyle also confirmed that he has no fresh injury concerns–barring Laldinliana Renthlei, who is recovering from a long-term affliction and thus misses the squad–with one final training session scheduled before matchday.

Chennaiyin FC’s Full Squad for Kalinga Super Cup 2025

Goalkeepers: Mohammad Nawaz, Samik Mitra, Malhar Umesh Mohol
Defenders: Ryan Edwards, PC Laldinpuia, Elsinho Dias, Vignesh Dakshinamurthy, Ankit Mukherjee, Mandar Rao Dessai, Pritam Kotal
Midfielders: Jitendra Singh, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Jiteshwor Singh, Lukas Brambilla, Edwin Sydney Vanspaul, Maheson Singh
Forwards: Farukh Choudhary, Connor Shields, Vincy Barretto, Kiyan Nassiri, Wilmar Jordan Gil, Gurkirat Singh, Irfan Yadwad, Daniel Chima Chukwu

Head-to-Head
Matches Played: 3 | CFC: 1 | MCFC: 2
Only considering Super Cup ties

The post Kalinga Super Cup 2025: Charged-Up Chennaiyin FC to Face Mumbai City FC in Opening Round, Name Strong Squad appeared first on Chennaiyin FC.