SAFF Championship: Stern test awaits India

BENGALURU: Already through to the semifinals, India will face its sternest test in the SAFF Championship football when it faces formidable Kuwait in its last league match here on Tuesday.

With six points from two wins, the same as India, Kuwait has also entered the semifinals and Tuesday’s match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium will decide the Group A winner. Pakistan and Nepal face each other in the other match of the day, which has been rendered inconsequential as both the sides are already out of contention for the semifinals after losing their two earlier matches.

India had brushed aside Pakistan 4-0 but had to work hard in its 2-0 win over Nepal. Its 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 defence, and Kuwait could pose even taller hurdles with a much more organised and experienced defence.

India would once again look to the talismanic Sunil Chhetri for goals, as he 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 for 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 had said. “The coach asked us to change that, and we need to start scoring. Not just Sunil (Chhetri).”

On the other hand, Kuwait, which enjoys a 2-1 head-to-head record against India, has so far dished out a very disciplined game in the tournament. It was authoritative while scripting 3-1 and 4-0 victories over Nepal and Pakistan respectively.

It would want to continue in the same vein against India, despite taking time to acclimatise with the conditions here. It will also put it 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.”