India vs Kuwait, SAFF Championship 2023 Highlights: IND draw 1-1 with KUW

That is that! A match that wasn't played in very good spirits but at the end of it all, both sides are shaking harnds quite cordially. Kudos to the officials for handling this game, in which the players and officials behaved so poorly at times that one can call into question their professionalism. The Group A table finishes the way it was before the start of this match, both India and Kuwait on 8 points and Kuwait finish top because of the number of goals they have scored. This means that India have to face the formidable Lebanon in the semi-final, as opposed to Bangladesh or Maldives. 

A bizarre goal was all that was left to be seen in this match and there it is. Anwar Ali looking to clear the ball away on the left, ends up chipping it behind over the goalkeeper and in his own goal. There are EIGHT minutes of stoppage time by the way so there is still chance for India to either take back the lead or for Kuwait to steal 3 points. 

Both players looking like they have been shown red cards for nothing, acting as if full blooded pushes are par for course in the game of footbal that they play for a living. 

88 mins: This is threatening to get out of hand now. AlQallaf gives Sahal a push as retaliation to the latter taking the ball away from him with what he would be complaining is a high foot. Rahim Ali comes running in and pushes AlQallaf. Suddenly the Kuwait coaching staff is on the pitch. When it all calms down….

80 mins: Utterly terrible behaviour from Stimac. He has a go at the officials once again despite being on a yellow and this time, the referee has had enough. He shows another yellow and Stimac is off, he won't be in the technical area for the semi-final.

The stadium PA just announced that there is just over 9500 people in the stadium, which is quite extraordinary considering it's a rainy weekday evening. Quite a few have surely taken some creative liberties with asking for a sick leave or half day today from work. 

69 mins: That was probably the best chance an Indian got to score tonight, probably even better than the one that Chhetri converted. Chhetri wins the ball and plays it to Jeakson. His first shot is blocked out for a corner. Chhangte delivers it perfectly and Jeakson just has to make agood contact with the header, he sends it wide.

63 mins: AlQallaf pushes down Mahesh and the ball rolls out right in front of the technical area. Stimac picks the ball up and appeals for a foul, the Kuwaiti players demand the ball aggressively and a small crowd gathers once again. This time, Stimac gets away with a red card. If he is going to do this in every big match, India have a problem here. It has to be said though, quite surprising how the referee did not call that a free kick. 

Kuwait have a free kick in a dangerous position right in front of goal. Alkhaldi takes it, gets it on target and Amarinder is up to the task. He palms it over the bar.

53 mins: Ashique with a cross from the left just evades Mahesh but he keeps it in play, crosses it but it evades Chhetri. It reaches Ashique again and this time, he takes a shot first time. The ball flies just over the bar.

Right the Indians run out first and then come out the Kuwaitis. The first half was quite entertaining regardless of the mistakes. Let's hope the second half lives up to that at least. 

This certainly has not been India's best game and in many ways, they are quite lucky to go 1-0 up. First up, the missed chances and there have been many. Mahesh has been sending in crosses from the right but there have hardly been anyone to receive them. When there is someone, he misses the target entirely. Apart from that India have been guilty of giving the ball away in key midfield areas. All of that has led to Stimac walking off shaking his head despite his team scoring just before the half time whistle. A thunderbust seems to be awaiting those players.

And breathe. A pulsating first half in which the first and only piece of real quality in the final third from both sides was the goal by the great man. 

Chhetri with a fantastic right foot side volley from a corner kick! Corner for India from the right, Chhetri is totally unmarked, baffling defending there from Kuwait and they pay for it. He volleys first time with a hip level kick on the right and the ball is lasered into goal. 

43 mins: Akash Mishra chases the ball and barges into Kuwait captain Ahmad AlDhefeery. It was only his momentum taht took Aakash there but AlDhefeery is having none of it, he gets right in the face of Aakash and there is suddenly a soup of Indian and Kuwaiti players there. The referee separates the two parties. A coming together in the dying embers of the first half has becoming a theme for India in the group stage of this tournament.

Kuruniyan plays a through ball to Mahesh down the left, the latter sends in a cross first time which is well behind Chhetri. Chhetri has to run back from inside the box to get to it, tries to find Chhangte on the right with a looped ball into the box but it flies off target and out of bounds.

Jeakson releases Mahesh down the left, he crosses once he gets to the final and that is cleared by a Kuwaiti defender. Yet again, quality in the final third evading India. 

Kuwait back to patiently keeping possession, India having to run around a bit now. It turns over with Jeakson winning a competition for a lofted pass and now India pass the ball around for a while. It has been a high octane match and so both sides catching their breath it seems until....

25 mins: A nice one-two between Mohammad Abdullah and Eid AlRashidi gives the former a chance to take a shot from almost point blank range on the right Amrinder saves and the ball hits the side netting. It has to be said that it looked like the ball had actually gone in and the entire stadium thought that Kuwait had scored. But, in fact, none of it matters as the linesman waved Abdullah offside. 

A shot from about 30 yards out by Abdullah Al Fahad goes just over the Indian bar. Both sides have been quite good with their intensity thus far but efficiency goes for a toss when they reach the final third. Pulsating stuff though. 

15 minutes of pretty good football thus far between two quality sides. Kuwait's goalkeeper Abdul Rahman Marzouq is quite adventurous with his sweeper keeper duties and ended up coming too far off his line. The Kuwait defenders had to guard the goal for a while until Marzouq could make his way back.