India vs Brazil: Five-time World Cup winners arrive in Kolkata for friendly

“A beautiful dream that never seemed possible.” A dream that remained distant for so long will become a reality at a stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. The Brazilian football team, one of the biggest names in world football, will take on India for the first time. The five-time World Cup winners, ranked sixth in the FIFA rankings, will face India, who are ranked 138th.

The international friendly will kick off at 7.30 pm at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake. Brazil will be without captain Raphinha, who was injured in Australia, but Vinicius Junior, Endrick, Danilo, Gabriel Magalhaes and Marquinhos are expected to feature for the Selecao. Carlo Ancelotti is the head coach.

For the Indian team coached by Khalid Jamil, the focus is on putting up a strong performance rather than the result. Brazil were knocked out in the Round of 16 at the last World Cup. They drew one and won one of their two recent friendly matches against Australia.

India enter match with confidence

The Indian team is heading into the match with confidence after holding Panama, ranked 44th in the FIFA rankings and a team that played at the last World Cup, to a 1-1 draw in Bengaluru last week. India will also face former world champions Uruguay in Kolkata on October 6. Ryan Williams, who switched his international allegiance from Australia, will be one of India's key players. Malayali players Ashique Kuruniyan, Bijoy Varghese, Sahal Abdul Samad and Mohammed Sanan are also part of the squad.

TV live: From 7.30 pm on SonyLIV

Malayali football legend I.M. Vijayan and Brazilian legend Jose Barreto will jointly bring the match ball onto the field.