India neutralise Kuwait threat with flair and fearlessness as Igor Stimac gets closer to his first XI

“Biggest exam up until now.” The rankings said a different story, but India, placed 101st in the world, coach Igor Stimac wasn’t deceived by Kuwait’s FIFA’s 143rd position as he prepared for the final Group A game in SAFF Championship 2023. In January this year, the Rui Bento-coached side defeated World No 72 UAE and played a draw against 85th-ranked Bahrain in the Gulf Cup. With both sides into the semi-finals, it was a dead rubber. But for India, on a 12-game unbeaten streak at home and with a record eight straight clean sheets, it would have been a morale crusher to lose the momentum ahead of the last-four contest. “We will try to win” was the message from Stimac as India took the field against a team that had a clear physical advantage. However, as has been the case against higher-ranked sides like the Kyrgyz Republic and Lebanon recently, India had flair and fearlessness. Kuwait? They had physical dominance and heavy tackles. The fact that India resorted to multiple changes from the Nepal game, bringing in Lallianzuala Chhangte and Naorem Mahesh Singh on the wings and Jeakson Singh in the midfield, gave the home team the necessary wherewithal to neutralise the Kuwait threat. India impress before late meltdown The first real chance for India came in as early as the sixth minute when Mahesh provided a through ball for overlapping Akash Mishra on the left flank only for Sunil Chhetri to miss the cross in the box. Three minutes later, full-back Nikhil Poojary put in a cross from the right for a defender to head it away from a lurking Mahesh. Kuwait had a chance in the 20th minute when Shadab Al Khaldi blasted a shot just inches above the bar from outside the box. From then on, India mostly controlled the ball in the first half with Anwar Ali putting a header wide in the 35th minute. This forced the players from the Gulf nation to resort to verbal arguments and rugged tackles to hamper India’s rhythm. While the strategy had a little impact on the Blue Tigers’ game, it was their finishing that led to frustration till Sunil Chhetri came up with another rescue act. This time with a spectacular right-footed volley in stoppage time of the first half.

The second half would see Kuwait score a goal, in fact, an own goal from Anwar Ali in stoppage time and rescue a point. Completely against the play, it must have come as a crushing blow to the Blue Tigers. “Right now feeling is of a loss after the way we conceded the late goal. We were all disheartened in the dressing room as we couldn’t keep the clean sheet and the run ended. We are still on an unbeaten streak at home and will look to carry on with it,” Chhetri said after the match. Kuwait’s tactics in the second half slowed the same. Impose your physical presence and disrupt India’s game with fouls and interruptions. The tactics had an impact as India lost their composure, starting from head coach Igor Stimac. Stimac, who saw a red in the opening game against Pakistan, saw a yellow in the 63rd minute for a needless argument with a Kuwait player and was given a red in the 81st minute for riling up the fourth referee.

India’s Rahim Ali and Kuwait’s Hamad Al Qallaf were then given the marching orders in the 90th minute after another melee broke out on the pitch. Eventually, in the 92nd minute, Kuwait found the equaliser with Anwal Ali scoring an own goal. First XI blueprint While India’s performance deserved a victory, the fact that they didn’t win is a lesson. The Kuwait match was also a draft of India’s potential first-choice XI at the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Sandesh Jhingan, Anwar Ali and Aakash Mishra have almost sealed their spots at the back and Nikhil Poojary now sees his stock rise with consistently good performances. Sahal Abdul Samad was put on the bench as Mahesh took the left-wing spot with Ashique Kuruniyan playing behind Chhetri. Mahesh on the left flank and Chhangte on the right is a combination we should consistently get to see in the coming games. Jeakson and Anirudh Thapa as a midfield pairing has been almost flawless so far. Some of the top players including Brandon Fernandes and Suresh Wangjam are currently out of the squad and a lot can change going into the Asian Cup, still, you get a feel that Stimac is pretty close to finding his first XI. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .