Ever-improving India take on Australia in second AFC Futsal Asian Cup qualifier

Ardiya [Kuwait], September 21 (ANI): India may have begun the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers with a defeat to Kuwait, but the Futsal Tigers are on the right track, according to head coach Reza Kordi.

Now having taken charge of three games so far, the Iranian believes that the boys have shown improvement with every game, and the first-ever international futsal win is not far away.

India will face Australia in the second Group A qualifier on Monday, at the Qushaian Al Mutairi Hall in Ardiya at 18:30 IST. The match will be streamed live on the 51 Kuwait app and 51.com.kw.

The 1-4 defeat to the hosts on Saturday was no blemish on the young careers of the Indian futsal squads. Not many gave India, the lowest-ranked team (135th) in the group, a chance against Kuwait, the best-ranked side (43rd). Still, the home crowd, which had set up an intimidating atmosphere with drums, loudspeaker chanting, and big flags, was left shell-shocked when David Laltlansanga slid in to put India in the lead.

Laltlansanga, Indian futsal's trailblazer, maintained his record of scoring in each of the four Futsal Asian Cup qualifier matches India has played so far. While India failed to register a win in the previous qualifiers, he grabbed eyeballs with six goals, only two less than top scorer Saeid Ahmadabbasi of IR Iran.

"In the first half, we played very, very well. We got one chance and scored a beautiful goal," said head coach Kordi. "In the second half, we created more chances, but unfortunately, we didn't score. This is futsal. If you have a chance and don't finish, then surely you will concede easy goals, and that's what happened with the third and fourth goals."

Ultimately, Kuwait, one of the most experienced futsal teams on the continent with 13 Asian Cup appearances to their name, scripted the comeback and ran away with the three points. Despite conceding four, India's Ozen Vivian Silva, who was the goalkeeper of the tournament of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship 2023-24 for Ambelim SC, had a terrific outing, making as many as 20 saves.

After the game, Kordi said, "I would like to apologise to all our Indian fans and supporters. The federation has supported us very well for this tournament. Congratulations to the Kuwait team, but in my opinion, we didn't lose to them. We lost first to our lack of experience and also to their goalkeeper (Fawad Al Khawari), who made a lot of saves. Both the goalkeepers were in top form.

"Still, I am so happy and proud of these young players, our Futsal Tigers. And I am sure that in the future, India can reach the very top of Asia. We are on the right track."

India's quest for a first international futsal victory now takes them to the next game against Australia, who are ranked 53rd in the world and defeated Mongolia 8-1 in their first encounter. Kordi was in attendance at the arena in Ardiya as the Futsalroos sailed to a mammoth victory with five goals coming in the second half.

"Now we need to focus on recovery for the next game. I watched Australia against Mongolia. Australia has very good players with strong experience in Asia. But we will try to beat them, and then we will see what happens in the third game against Mongolia. They do have a lot of experience, but we have a chance to beat them. We believe we can do it," Kordi said. (ANI)

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