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After an arduous 120 minutes of tumultuous football, India ultimately emerged victorious on penalty shootouts against Kuwait in the SAFF Championship 2023 Final on Tuesday, July 4.
While Kuwait opened the scoring right after the first quarter, the Blue Tigers put up a mighty response after conceding. However, it wasn't until the 38th minute that the hosts restored parity through Lallianzuala Chhagte.
Still tied on 1-1 after the extra time, the game went into a penalty shootout and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu pulled off a heroic save to lead India to a 4-5 victory on penalties and their ninth title in the competition.
Here are the highlights for India vs Kuwait clash in the SAFF Championship 2023 final:
After both outfits did away with the initial twitchiness, it was the visitors who established their dominance in possession and resilience without it.
Soon enough, the Blue Wave were repaid for their impetus as Shabaib Alkhaldi breached the Indian backline in the 16th minute. Abdullah Albloushi, whose cross was turned into his own net by Anwar Ali in the group-stage clash, provided the decisive pass into the center of the box.
Alkhaldi positioned himself perfectly to bury the ball home past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu from close quarters and give Kuwait the lead. Almost immediately the Blue Tigers tried to pounce on the opposition goal with a snapshot from Sunil Chhetri but the opposition shot-stopper managed to punch it away, although not with much conviction. Chhangte tried to push the rebound into the net but the defenders cleared it.
With the warning bells going off right after Kuwait's opening goal, Igor Stimac's men showed a lot of urgency in the middle of the park right away. But as the intensity grew so did the duels and Anwar Ali bore the brunt of a needless challenge in the middle of the park. The young center-back went down immediately holding his calf and had to be stretchered away.
Mehtab Singh replaced Anwar and fit steadily into the proceedings. India were knocking at the door since conceding but only a sublime team goal in the 38th minute could level the scores.
After recovering the ball deep into the left flank, Ashique Kuruniyan found Chhetri just outside the opposition box. The skipper, oozing utmost panache, paused before threading a deft through ball to find Sahal Abdul Samad and unlock Kuwait's defense.
Sahal looked perfectly positioned to chip the on-rushing keeper, but in a stroke of genius, the Kerala Blasters midfielder opted to square the ball for Chhangte, who pumped the ball into the open net. The Kanteerava erupted in unison as India once again crawled back into the tie.
The dying moments of the first half show a flurry of bookings for Kuwait as the referee showed three players yellow cards within a matter of five minutes. One of the staff from the visiting camp was also booked for protesting on the touchline.
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu delivers in the penalty shootout to lead India to SAFF Championship final victory over Kuwait
Even after the break, although the intensity from both teams fizzled out a little, the players continued to battle it out on the pitch. The fouls continued and carried on deep into the second half. Neither side created any substantial goal-bound actions and the game rolled into extra time with both squads missing the edge in the final time.
The additional minutes brought along more similar proceedings and ultimately the lottery of penalties was needed to separate the two outfits. While Sunil Chhetri converted India's opening spot-kick, Mohammad Daham's effort smashed into the top of the crossbar. The Blue Tigers had taken a momentary lead but Udanta Singh's scuffed shot tied the proceedings.
However, the hero of the semi-finals, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu led India in their SAFF Championship defense with a stunning save to deny Khaled Haijah. The veteran custodian judged the effort with perfection and clawed it away to mid-air.
The 30,000-odd supporters erupted immediately to sing ballads about the heroics of all the Indian players as Igor Stimac's men capped off a wonderful spell for the national team with two consecutive international titles.
