India beat Kuwait in nerve-racking penalties to win 9th SAFF Championship crown

With a bit of luck, a lot of pluck and the left hand of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, India retained the SAFF Championship coming back from an early goal to beat invitees Kuwait 6-5 in the sudden death shootout after open play ended 1-1 on Tuesday.

Like in the semi-final against Lebanon, Sandhu pulled off one save, the first in the sudden death, off skipper Khaled Hajiah. Cue, All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey climbing onto head coach Igor Stimac before the Croat was thrown in the air by his players.

India’s luck in the final came in Most Valuable Player, and highest scorer with six goals, Chhetri’s spot-kick going in after hitting the upright. The pluck was evident from the off and more so after Shabaib Alkhakdi’s 15th minute goal which was cancelled by Lallianzuala Chhangte in the 39th.

Udanta Singh skied his penalty but Sandesh Jhingan, Chhangte, Subhasish Bose and Mahesh Naorem scored. Kuwait began by Mohammad Abdullah crashing his shot on the horizontal before Fawaz Alotaibi, AhmadAldheferry, Abdulaziz Mahran and Alkhaldi converted. This was India’s third trophy of the year.

“Believe”, said the banner on the right of India’s goal. For the first time in 2023, they were trailing so they would need it in spades. Kuwait’s goal stemmed from everything Stimac, perched in the stands because he was suspended, would hate to see. Nikhil Poojary was not strong enough to keep possession, Ashique Kuruniyan did not track back to help Akash Mishra, the India left-back, and India were caught on the counter. “That was our weakest moment in the final,” said Sandhu. “But we never gave up.”

In three deft touches after a long ball from the left, Kuwait had scored. Would India pay for going on the attack from the start? The high line and starting with the more offensive Poojary and Mishra instead of defensively solid full backs Pritam Kotal and Bose were a clear statement of intent. But the passes hadn’t gone to feet, Kuruniyan and Sahal Abdul Samad looked under-par and for all the desire, India lacked the finesse in the front third. By the 15h minute, they were trailing.

But belief is not in short supply in this squad. This is not a team that will crowd its goal and hoof out clearances hoping to win the second ball. They will, at least against some teams, try and play through the middle or use the speed of Kuruniyan and Chhangte and the full backs. “Why do you think I have spent four years working on the muscles of these boys,” Stimac often says. The answer to the rhetorical question lies in the energy and speed India have been shown through 2023.

Backed and buoyed by a boisterous 26,380 at Sree Kanteerava Stadium that chanted, “let’s go, India” and also ‘f***k you referee” when Prajwol Chetri booked Sandesh Jhingan and “f****ng disgrace” when Mohammad Abdullah pulled Chhetri, India almost hit back in the 16th minute.

Chhangte controlled and cushioned a long ball for Chhetri to let fly but goalkeeper Abdulrahman Marzouq kept it out and then the rebound didn’t fall kindly for Chhangte who had followed up. Chhangte, adjudged Player of the Year by AIFF, has been doing that oftener this season; 10 goals and six assists in the Indian Super League (ISL) are proof. The Mumbai City FC midfielder has also developed the ability to work through the middle as was evident in the goal he scored away to Jamshedpur FC.

All of that came together in the 39th minute. Poojary’s ball to Kuruniyan who circulated it to Chhetri showed India’s ability to probe patiently. Chhetri’s snap pass forward was the change of pace and direction Kuwait did not expect. Samad did and squared for the onrushing Chhangte. This was a combination like clockwork.

A spate of fouls and bookings - before Chhetri was shirt-tugged, Anirudh Thapa was pulled down by Hamad Alqallaf – showed Kuwait were not coping well with what India were throwing at them. Samad went on a strong run after Thapa found him but Chhetri couldn’t control the forward pass. Then, Kuruniyan exploited a poor pass from Marzouq and Chhetri’s soft header found Chhangte whose first-time left-footer lacked power.

Losing central defender Anwar Ali to injury in the 35th minute meant India missed his ability to switch play with long left-foot passes. But though his replacement Mehtab Singh had some nervous moments, the defence was composed, especially after Rohit Kumar joined Jeakson Singh in adding a layer of protection. It still needed Sandhu’s strong left hand to keep out Mohammad Abdullah’s strike in the 90th minute. India could have scored twice after that but Kumar’s cut-back didn’t go to feet and then through on goal, Udanta Singh had the costliest slip of his career.

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