Ranked 100th, wins SAFF Championship for the 9th time. They also won the Intercontinental Cup recently
The Indian men’s football team secured the championship title in the SAFF Championship 2023 by defeating Kuwait in a captivating penalty shootout, with a scoreline of 5-4. The intense match took place at Bengaluru’s Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Tuesday.
Ranked 100th in the FIFA rankings, India triumphed in the 14th edition of the SAFF Championship, marking their ninth victory in the tournament. This achievement followed their recent success in winning the Intercontinental Cup last month.
After the regular playing time ended with a 1-1 scoreline and neither team managed to score during extra time, the final outcome was determined by a penalty shootout. In the sudden-death phase, Kuwait’s captain Hajjeia missed the decisive spot-kick.
During regulation time, Lallianzuala Chhangte, who was recently named the AIFF Player of the Year, equalized for India in the 39th minute, nullifying the early lead secured by Kuwait’s Shabaib Al Khaldi in the 14th minute.
Indian head coach Igor Stimac, who was serving a touchline ban and watched the match from the stands, made three changes to the starting eleven from the semifinals against Lebanon. Akash Mishra and Nikhil Poojary returned as full-backs, while Sandesh Jhingan, who was suspended in the previous match, replaced Mehtab Singh in the heart of the defense.
Playing with a four-man defense, India started cautiously and relied on counter-attacks. In contrast, Kuwait applied high pressure and launched penetrating crosses and through-balls into the Indian half. It was Kuwait who took an early lead as Al Feneeni dribbled into the Indian half and provided an unmarked Shabaib Al Khaldi in the box, who calmly slotted the ball past the Indian goalkeeper.
Trailing behind, India pushed forward in search of an equalizer. They had a golden opportunity to level the scores when Lallianzuala Chhangte’s long-range shot was saved by goalkeeper Mubarak Marzouq. As the match progressed, India gained confidence and launched relentless attacks on the Kuwait half. Eventually, they scored the equalizer when Ashique Kuruniyan won the ball in the Kuwait half and passed it to Sunil Chhetri, who played a well-weighted through-ball for Lallianzuala Chhangte to convert and make it 1-1.
The first half ended with both teams level at 1-1. In the second half, Nikhil Poojary and Lallianzuala Chhangte combined effectively on the right flank, making overlapping runs in an attempt to feed the ball to Sunil Chhetri. However, the vigilant Kuwait defense thwarted their efforts.
In the 62nd minute, India had a prime opportunity to take the lead when Sunil Chhetri headed back Kuwait goalkeeper Mubarak Marzouq’s kick towards Lallianzuala Chhangte. Unfortunately, Chhangte’s shot lacked power and was comfortably collected by the Kuwait goalkeeper.
As the clock ticked, the game intensified, leading the referee to issue yellow cards to players from both sides. Near the end of regulation time, Kuwait came close to scoring the winning goal when Mohammad Abdhulla intercepted a throw-in and launched a shot towards the Indian goal. However, an alert Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made a brilliant save to deny Kuwait a certain goal.
With regulation time ending in a 1-1 draw, the match proceeded into extra time. Both teams had several opportunities to secure victory during the additional period, but neither managed to find the decisive goal. Consequently, the match progressed to a thrilling penalty shootout, where India emerged as the winners.
Prior to the final, the Indian football team defeated Lebanon in the semifinals and achieved victories against Pakistan and Nepal in the group stage, while drawing against Kuwait.
