SAFF Championship: Battle for bragging rights

Bengaluru, June 26

Already through to the semifinals, India will face their sternest test in the SAFF Championship so far when they face Kuwait in their last league match here tomorrow.

With six points from two wins each, India and Kuwait have entered the semifinals and tomorrow’s match will decide the Group A winner.

India had brushed aside Pakistan 4-0 but had to work hard in their 2-0 win over Nepal. Their defence looks in fine fettle, having managed a clean sheet for a record eight successive matches.

However, the midfield and frontline will have to perform a notch higher against a strong side like Kuwait.

India had struggled for more than an hour to penetrate Nepal’s defence, and Kuwait could pose even taller hurdles with a much more organised and experienced defence.

India’s primary weapon for finding goals still remains the talismanic Sunil Chhetri, who struck a hat-trick against Pakistan and then opened the scoring against Nepal.

It was just an understatement when Sahal Abdul Samad said other players, including himself, need to find the target more often than not to take the burden off Chhetri.

It is imperative for India to find multiple goal-scorers ahead of playing against fancied opponents as they will hardly give any wriggle room to Chhetri.

“Every aspect (of the game) has room for improvement. It’s a possession game, keep the ball as much as we can and score the goals. We have a fantastic player who scores goals for us,” Sahal said. “The coach asked us to change that, and we need to start scoring,” he added.

On the other hand, Kuwait, who enjoy a 2-1 head-to-head record against India, have so far dished out a disciplined game in the tournament. They were authoritative while scripting 3-1 and 4-0 victories over Nepal and Pakistan, respectively.

They would want to continue in the same vein against India. It will also put them in a good frame of mind ahead of the semifinals. “We sometimes play well, but our ball possession can get better. Before coming here, we played difficult matches with African teams,” said Kuwait head coach Rui Bento.

“It is very difficult to play in this weather, because the humidity is very high. But I have to congratulate our players for the previous two matches,” he added.

The last time India faced Kuwait was in an international friendly in November 2010. — PTI

Positive mindset

Lallianzuala Chhangte today said that India should face Kuwait with a positive mindset. “Kuwait is a very good team, and we are aware of that. But we are going to face them with the same positive mindset, and will look to win,” said Chhangte. “Like the coach said, higher or lower ranking does not matter to us as we approach every match with the same mindset,” he added. Chhangte attributed the team’s recent success to its ability to execute plans on the field. “The team is gelling really well on and off the field. We have a great bond. The main reason is that we have been able to put into practice what we have been taught during the training. We have been working on several things like attacking from the wings and delivering crosses, and they are coming off really well for us,” he said.